Destiny's Dance
by Taurus Pixie
Summary: It all started with one simple and weird dream in which she kissed Chat Noir. It was from that moment that Marinette's life begins to spiral out of control with revelations and a mysterious stalker putting her relationships to the test. Above all, Marinette couldn't possibly be in love with both Adrien and Chat Noir? Right?
1. Disturbing Dreams

**My first Miraculous fanfiction. My writing skills may be a little rusty, so I apologise in advance. But, welcome to my story and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Rated T for violence, graphic violence/description, infrequent strong language, descriptions of a panic attack and later infrequent scenes of emotional and physical abuse. Trigger warnings will be in place for those chapters.**

 **Possible season 2 spoilers, I'm not sure, just thought I'd warn just in case.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. This is merely fanfiction and I am not making money out of this. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just written for fun.**

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 **UPDATE 12/26/2018: This story is currently in the process of being edited and cleaned up, so if you're reading and this note this still here, it means that some chapters further along the story will be slightly messier than earlier chapters. This note will be removed once the whole story has been edited. Don't worry, there will be no change to the plot, I'm just cleaning up typos that were missed during the initial editing process when this story was still in progress.**

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 _ **~ Destiny's Dance ~**_

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 **Chapter 1: Disturbing Dreams**

Giggles of happiness and freedom filled the otherwise silent, night time air of the city of love. All was unusually quiet; no loud traffic or the sound of people and tourists bustling about the city. The moon hung large and full in the sky, the twinkling light of the stars reaching the earth with no immense light pollution to hinder their beautiful glow as all the lights in the city were off. This fact caused the mild air to fill with delighted laughter once again as a small, thin figure raced across the rooftops.

Ladybug had never felt more peaceful. Just her and all of Paris laid out before her. Her smile only grew wider as she kept on running, the silent streets and lack of light creating a surreal feeling, but it was amazing nonetheless. Her pigtails trailed behind her as she ran faster and faster, savouring the beautiful feeling; complete and utter freedom. Just her and the city.

The red and black spot attired hero of Paris paused on the tallest rooftop in the street, breathing a deep, contented sigh. The shadow of the Eiffel Tower stood tall in the distance and it would provide her with the best view of the city yet. She loved running like this, on her own in the dead of night, but usually it was much more noisy and colourful than this. Normally, her Ladybug superhero sense would be on red alert; this wasn't exactly normal after all.

However, for some reason, Ladybug couldn't bring herself to care. She was enjoying herself way too much, drunk on her weightless happiness. Patrolling the city with her ever trusty partner Chat Noir was fine, fun even, puns and all (although she'd never admit that aloud), but alone time was always nice, especially with a beautiful city laid out before you. To be alone with one's thoughts was something Ladybug did enjoy every now and again, especially as they were hard to come by now that she juggled double identities: Paris' beloved hero, a school girl with friends and responsibilities, class representative as well as helping her parents in their little, successful bakery. She could clear her thoughts or focus on one particular thought like which design she would like to do or think up gift ideas for her friends. It was bliss.

Hand clutched at her yo-yo tied around her waist, Ladybug was poised and ready to bolt for the Eiffel Tower when movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Startled, she whipped her head around to the source of the sudden movement; she thought she had been the only one out here, that she had the whole city to herself. Evidently not. She clenched her yo-yo tighter in her hand, ready to use it against any possible threat that appeared to be stalking her this dark night.

An involuntary gasp escaped past her lips, her grip on her weapon subconsciously loosening, and her blue eyes widened in shock, the rest of her body freezing in place. Stood on another rooftop a few metres away was a tall boy, eyes concealed in shadow by his golden blond locks, but she could sense his eyes looking directly at her. Ladybug immediately began blushing, however she could not contain her shock.

What was Adrien doing out here?

"A-Adrien?" Was all Ladybug could stutter out in confusion.

He said nothing in response, merely raising his hand, stretching it out towards her while the rest of his body remained frozen and unmoving, silently beckoning her. Ladybug could not resist heeding this siren's call, despite her instincts screaming at her that something was wrong. Her body would not listen though as she slowly walked across the roof tiles and jumped onto the roof currently occupied by the love of her life. Unconsciously, she slipped her hand into his own, and before she knew it, he was pulling her close to him, a happy, innocent smile on his lips, although she was still unable to see his eyes.

Ladybug felt her whole body set ablaze as he wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest as she struggled to process the situation. But before Ladybug could even begin to comprehend, Adrien gently leaned his head down, licking his lips ever so slightly as Ladybug felt the entire world begin to spin around her. Her face grew even hotter as she realised what was about to happen.

Again, her mind was screaming at her that something was off, but she could not bring herself to listen as Adrien's lips met her own. She had been waiting for what felt like an eternity for this day. For a few seconds, Ladybug let herself enjoy the sweet, innocent kiss, leaning her head to the side, ready to deepen the amazing moment between them, when she suddenly hesitated. Adrien wasn't kissing Marinette, the girl behind the mask. He was kissing Ladybug. The superhero that everyone adored. The different version of her. The front she put on in order to keep Paris safe. That's what Adrien had wanted to kiss, not the real her, not Marinette, just some faceless, unknown hero. No! She wanted Adrien to love _Marinette_. Anyone loving her as Ladybug was futile. It was dangerous.

She then had further cause to freeze when Adrien placed his leather hand on her cheek. Wait…leather? Ladybug abruptly ended the kiss, pulling back in shock at the foreign sensation against her cheek. Had the skin of Adrien's hand not been bare?

Both of them pulled back and Ladybug gasped at the sight before her. Instead of Adrien, stood her partner and friend Chat Noir. She had just kissed Chat Noir?! But she could have sworn that it had been Adrien that had been stood there, beckoning her and kissing her. Ladybug felt her heart stop in her chest, going from one hundred kilometres an hour to just zero. The force of it made her breath get caught in her throat, and all Ladybug could do was stop and stare at Chat Noir in shock as he smiled softly at her, once again leaning in…

Marinette gasped loudly, her body shooting upright in her bed from her typical sprawled out sleeping position. Her fingers gripped her sheets as she stared straight ahead, eyes wide with fear before scanning her room. A dream. It had just been a dream. And a weird dream at that! Sure, she had many a fantasies and dreams about her and Adrien on romantic dates, kissing and cuddling, but Chat Noir creeping in there was a first. What exactly was that all about? Marinette frowned, cursing her brain for now making her feel all weird. The thought of kissing Chat Noir made her shiver, but a shiver of what exactly? She couldn't quite pin it and that disturbed her even more.

"Marinette?" A little high-pitched voice suddenly asked. "Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?"

Her ever concerned and attentive kwami flew in front of her face and Marinette couldn't help but blush. This was one dream she did not feel like sharing. It was too weird.

"Yeah, something like that." Marinette forced a smile and scratched the back of her head nervously.

No doubt Tikki was about to ask about it when a sudden vibration interrupted before she could begin to say anything.

"Huh?" Marinette frowned as she climbed down from her bed, clad in her pyjamas of her own unique and beautiful design. She tried to lean and look out of the window as best she could before turning to her computer to check the news where a live broadcast awaited her.

"People of Paris, we urge you stay in your homes!" Nadja's familiar voice filled the room. "Another akumatized victim is on the loose. Chat Noir is on the scene as we speak, still no sign of Ladybug though –"

That's all Marinette needed to hear before she switched the broadcast off.

"I can't believe I slept through an akuma attack!" Marinette exclaimed, eyes wide and placing her hands in her hair in frustration.

Tikki chuckled lightly, "Marinette, you can sleep through anything."

Marinette refused to rise to the joke, instead deciding to get straight down to business, wrapping her purse over her shoulder.

"Tikki, spots on!"

As Tikki flew into her earrings, Marinette felt the familiar transformation over body as she was surrounded by pink light and magic. As soon as she was done transforming, she wasted no time in climbing up onto her balcony. Frantically looking around for the source of the current danger Paris was is, her eyes finally landed on a building in the distance which appeared to be on fire. Ladybug smirked, when in doubt, follow the destruction.

Ladybug quickly hooked her yo-yo around a distant chimney and before long, she was flying through the streets of the city. It didn't take long for her to start hearing the screams of innocent civilians causing Ladybug to frown and clench her teeth together in anger. She hooked her yo-yo around the last lamppost needed to catapult her into the action. She landed gracefully on her feet, placing her hands on her hips as she bit her lip in concentration to survey what was happening.

In front of her was a clearly distressed woman, her skin a bright orange and red hair spiked up resembling a roaring fire. Her dress, which looked like it was originally quite fancy, was now the same brilliant red as her hair, flowing loosely down to her ankles as she slowly walked down the street, a large staff in her hand. Her ruby red lips smirked as she focused on something that was in front her. Ladybug followed her line of sight to see Chat Noir pulling himself off the ground from having obviously landed face first on the concrete of the road. Ladybug's heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, a weird feeling bubbling in her stomach after the dream she had last night. Ladybug blinked, forcing herself to focus. Now was not the time to let the surreal dream of her friend get to her. She had a job to do.

Chat Noir's head whipped around to smirk at her.

"Is that the best you can do, hot head?" He taunted.

Ladybug repressed an eyeroll before gasping as the akumatized lady pointed her staff directly at Chat.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She growled out, the tip of her staff glowing from yellow to orange and to red.

Swinging her yo-yo, Ladybug hooked the string around her partner's wrist, yanking him out of the way just in time as bright, hot flames blasted out from the tip of her staff, hitting the concrete where Chat Noir had been a mere millisecond beforehand. Ladybug swung Chat Noir towards her, him yelping in shock as she did so before it morphed back into a yelp of pain as he once again face planted the concrete ground next to her. He grunted before shaking his head and gazing up at her, his face lighting up at the sight of her. Ladybug bit her lip and looked away, unable to meet his gaze after that weird dream.

"Ahhh, nice of you to finally show up, Bugaboo. This should really heat things up now."

"Please be serious Chat, this one looks dangerous," Marinette calmly and lightly scolded, "And I am sorry for being late. I – err – may or may not have slept in."

Chat smirked. "So, my lady is not a morning person I take it?"

Ladybug sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Especially on Sundays. So, what exactly is going on?" She asked as they both leapt out of the way of the akumatized victim's gaze before she could try and scorch them again.

"Her name is Scald," Chat Noir answered, turning into a more serious mode, "I get the sense that some dude broke up with her and now she's out for revenge. She's been trying to set most of central Paris on fire. Luckily, I don't think anyone's been hurt. I've managed to keep her pretty distracted waiting for you to arrive."

Ladybug nodded. "Well I'm here now, so let's end this, and quickly."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to play with fire now, would we?"

"No man will ever break my heart again!" Scald yelled manically, chasing after them and pointing her staff at them, a purple butterfly symbol appearing around her eyes.

Ladybug and Chat Noir both jumped back into the middle of the road, hoping that this way, if she did shoot out more fire, it wouldn't hit any buildings. Scald landed a few metres away, a smirk on her ruby red lips before pointing her staff down at the tarmac beneath them. The super duo gasped as the very surface beneath them began to melt into a sticky substance, pinning them to the ground.

"Let's see you try and get out of this," Scald taunted, "now hand me your miraculous or watch the entire city burn!"

"Well, this certainly is a sticky situation," Chat joked, however he was unable to hide the slight panic in his voice.

"Don't worry, I've got this. Hang on!" Ladybug instructed as she wrapped her left around Chat's waist. He did as instructed and clung onto her as she swung her yo-yo and hooked it onto the nearest lamppost. She yanked on the string as hard as she could, willing for this idea to work. The two heroes began to be slowly pulled out. The tar continued in vain to grip their feet before the force of the yo-yo was finally too much and they were free.

They were both sent flying through the air at the force of their sudden release, but Ladybug swung them back around before they could hit a wall of a nearby building. Both of them dropped back onto their feet on a patch of grass that decorated the street before they smirked at the villain in front of them.

Scald growled before using the heat in the air to make herself rise up. "I guess you chose to watch the city burn then!"

"We've got to do something!" Chat yelled, clenching his fist as he glared up at her.

"Any idea where the akuma might be hiding?" Ladybug asked desperately, her eyes scanning Scald's body for any object that looked out of place as she stopped in her ascent, her staff beginning to heat up.

"Perhaps an item her boyfriend gave her?" Chat mused.

Ladybug's eyes zeroed in on the golden locket hanging around Scald's neck.

"Of course! People keep pictures of loved ones in a locket." Ladybug smiled, now sure that was where the akuma was hiding.

Chat Noir smirked, "I'm sure my handsome face would look amazing in a locket around your neck."

Ladybug sighed, choosing not to retort before grinning as she threw her spinning yo-yo into the air. "Lucky charm!" She cried out. Magical ladybugs swirled around above her, creating the object needed in the battle against Scald. The object popped into existence, landing in Ladybug's waiting hands.

"A fire extinguisher!" Ladybug happily exclaimed.

Chat Noir rolled his eyes. "For once, something that makes sense!"

Ladybug frowned; the only issue now was getting close enough to her up there to use it against her and grab the locket. Her eyes scanned around the area for ideas before coming to rest on the lamppost she had just used to save them from the melting tar.

"Of course," Ladybug whispered before yelling at Chat Noir, "Chat, destroy that lamppost!"

"I'm on it!" He responded. "Cataclysm!"

Dark destructive magic enveloped Chat Noir's waiting hand before her leapt towards the metal pole, placing his destructive magic on it. The metal of the pole began to turn dark as the magic travelled up the light. The metal creaked and buckled before it snapped out of the ground, crashing towards the building on the opposite side of the street, landing in a perfect ramp.

"Perfect!" Ladybug exclaimed.

Gripping the bright red fire extinguisher, the young hero began running up the pole, rapidly advancing on Scald whose staff had now turned bright red. Scald spotted Ladybug just in time, growling at the hero running towards her. She turned her staff away from the city buildings, now pointing it directly at Ladybug while Chat Noir gazed on worriedly.

"Maybe I can pick your earrings out of your ashes," Scald growled out through clenched teeth.

Just as a blast of fire was about to erupt from her staff, Ladybug pointed the fire extinguisher directly at her, releasing a powerful jet of water that turned to steam as it came into contact with and put the emerging flames out. Scald screamed as the freezing water hit her body, and Ladybug used this opportunity to yank the locket from around her neck.

"No!" Scald cried out as Ladybug dropped the locket down to Chat Noir, who proceeded to drop it to the ground, stomping on it and breaking the small golden locket. The familiar black butterfly wiggled its way free and began desperately flying away.

Stroking her finger down the middle of her yo-yo, Ladybug cried out, "time to de-evilize!"

She swung her yo-yo around before releasing it into the air, easily capturing the escaping akuma and returning it to her. Ladybug released the now purified butterfly before grabbing her lucky charm and tossing it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

All was well again. The flames were snuffed out as if they were never there and all of the damage to the area was healed in a swarm of ladybug magic.

"Uhh, where am I?" The woman who was now laying at their feet groaned. Her hair was still a brilliant red, but no longer spiked up, instead falling straight and slick down to her shoulders. Her pretty red dress that matched her hair was wrinkled, and she gasped as she gazed at the now healed locket on the ground. She didn't even bother to pick it up, just staring at it sadly.

"I thought he loved me," her voice broke.

"I'm so sorry." Ladybug crouched down, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know it hurts, but anger is never the answer, especially if it leads to rash decisions."

"I know, I just – I just…" the woman's lip quivered, "he was only dating me because I looked like his ex that he was still in love with. I was just a distraction and deep down he wanted the real deal instead of me. He broke up with me right in the middle of our date. I thought he was the one."

Chat Noir placed a hand on her other shoulder. "It may hurt now, but time is an excellent healer."

Ladybug smiled. "Exactly, and now you can go on to find your true soulmate," she said gently. "People who treat others like that, they aren't worth your tears."

The woman sniffed. "Thank you for saving me from myself. I think I'm going to stay on my own for a while and plan out my next move in life."

"Good idea," Ladybug agreed as she and Chat Noir helped the poor young woman to her feet before letting her go as she began walking off.

With a bright smile, Ladybug turned back towards Chat Noir.

"Pound it!" They both shouted, bumping their fists together in their usual playful, celebratory banter.

But something was different this time. The touch of Chat's fist against hers sent an electric shock into Ladybug's hand that travelled up her arm and into her chest. She gasped and pulled away which in turn also startled Chat.

"Is something the matter my lady?" He asked, deep concern lacing his voice.

Ladybug backed up slightly, panicking, once again not being able to look her partner in the eye. That touch, it had reminded her of her very awkward and weird dream. She knew it wasn't Chat's fault and she felt terribly guilty for reacting this way, but she was beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Her heartbeat picked up its pace and she clutched her hands to her chest, subtly pressing down in a futile attempt to slow her racing organ down. She felt beyond awkward, but how could she explain this to her kitty? _Sorry Chat, I kinda had a weird dream where we made out and now I feel all awkward around you?_ Yeah, that was definitely a conversation Ladybug did not feel like having. It would be so embarrassing! Not to mention it may even give Chat false hope, a pain Ladybug was not willing to inflict on him. Her heart belonged to Adrien!

"LB?" Chat pressed, now even more worried.

"Sorry!" Ladybug suddenly exclaimed. "Umm, lack of sleep?"

Chat Noir frowned, not buying her excuse, but any protest was cut off by the sound of the beeping noise of both of their miraculous.

"Gotta go!" Ladybug squeaked. "See you around Chat!"

"Wait!" Chat Noir cried out, but it was too late. Ladybug was already gone, swinging and running through the streets of Paris before she transformed back.

Chat Noir's shoulders slumped, and he sighed in defeat. What exactly had gotten into his lady?

Ladybug quickly dropped into a deserted, dark alley just in time for her transformation to drop. Marinette sighed in relief as Tikki flew out of her earrings, positively exhausted. As she opened up her purse to grab her little kwami her favourite snack of cookies, Marinette yelped as she realised she was still in her pyjamas.

Tikki giggled as she took the cookie. "Well, you were in a rush."

Marinette cringed. "Oh, I hope no one sees. This will be fun to explain without looking insane."

"Calm down Marinette," the ever patient Tikki reassured her holder, "I can transform you back as soon as I've finished and get you home without any embarrassment necessary."

"Thanks, Tikki." Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the brick wall behind her, her thoughts and emotions a swirling mess.

Soon enough, Tikki was finished, and Marinette was able to transform again, quickly taking off.

Unbeknownst to Paris' greatest hero, the sound of a clicking camera echoed through the alley way as she took off. A tall dark figure wearing what appeared to be a black bowler hat and a black, knee length leather jacket emerged from around the corner, engulfed in shadow, watching Ladybug's retreating form.

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 **Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave your opinions.**


	2. Crash Landing

**Welcome back! Thank you so much for reviewing the first chapter. There were some typos pointed out to me in the first chapter which I have now hopefully managed to fix: the akumatized victim from the first chapter was definitely named Scald. I apologise for any confusion I may have caused through that. I also changed the story's rating, thinking I'm just being too paranoid, but if ever you feel like I need to change the rating, please don't hesitate to let me know.**

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 **Chapter 2: Crash Landing**

As Ladybug continued to swing through the streets of Paris, the young hero's heart began racing once again, and not through the exhilaration of flying through the air. She knew she had been incredibly unfair to Chat, and had probably worried the hell out of him. Ladybug herself couldn't even truly fathom what had come over her. All she knew was that she couldn't bring herself to face him.

Her dream had left her feeling incredibly weird, and she let out a sigh of frustration as she knew she was overreacting. It was just a silly and weird dream after all. Everybody had strange dreams every once in a while. It didn't necessarily mean that they symbolised anything. It was probably because she was spending so much time around Chat Noir. They had been partners for way over a year now and had gotten quite close. Well, as close as they could be without revealing too much about themselves that might give their secret identities away.

Ladybug shuddered at the thought as she continued running across the rooftops, her family's bakery still quite a trek away, but she didn't mind. This run was doing her some good. It reminded her of the wonderful run she had undertaken in her dream.

That thought caused Ladybug to trip slightly, almost skidding off the tall roof, down to the busy street below. A few passers-by watched her with smiles on their face as they stared and admired the famous hero, but Ladybug paid them no heed this time. Normally, she'd smile back and wave, but for once, she couldn't bring herself to face anyone.

Remaining at a standstill to catch her bearings and calm down from her near fall, Ladybug frowned and shook her head. She had to snap out of this. She was being completely stupid. But why couldn't she snap out of it? Why had the dream spooked her so much? Was her subconscious trying to tell her to give into Chat Noir's advances and flirt back? But her partner was mostly joking in his flirting…right?

No. She loved Adrien with every fibre of her being. He was the only one for her.

That made Ladybug wonder: was she placing Adrien in danger by pursuing him? No one knew she was Ladybug, and hardly anyone knew of her crush on him – as far as she knew – so he was safe for now. But what would happen if one day she was successful? If she managed to win Adrien's heart?

The thought sent a pleasurable shudder up the hero's spine. A light blush began to creep its way onto her delicate, pale cheeks, and she couldn't help but let out a dreamy sigh.

But…if they did start dating, would she one day have to tell him that she was Ladybug? Could she keep such a deep secret like that from someone she was madly in love with forever? And what if someone found out she was Ladybug? Adrien would become an obvious target.

Her dreamy expression morphed into a scowl. The situation certainly was tricky, but Ladybug made up her mind in an instant. Most definitely and positively, no one could know she was Ladybug. It would be a secret that she would take with her to the grave. She couldn't afford to be selfish and tell anyone, no matter how much she trusted them and how close she was to them.

She would have to settle with Adrien never knowing, if they were to end up together. The thought pained her, knowing the love of her life could never truly know that part of her. But it was a price she had to pay. All of her excuses for her disappearances had worked with her friends and family so far, so maybe they would continue to always work. Everybody knew how clumsy and scatter-brained she could be.

Ladybug sighed before once again swinging her yo-yo in the hopes of getting home faster. She dreaded the moment she returned home. The bakery shut in the afternoon, meaning she wouldn't have much to keep her occupied, to distract her from the grim thoughts currently plaguing her mind. The dream she had last night had most certainly screwed with her brain for the day.

She had even further cause to sigh in frustration as the sky grew darker, and little droplets of rain plopped onto her red suite. Before she knew it, the rain had grown heavier, her skin becoming dripping wet and her black hair becoming saturated. She would definitely need a nice hot shower when she returned.

Annoyingly, her mind drifted back to her dream again, wishing that her surroundings were as they were in her dream: mild and peaceful. She wished she could feel his warm lips pressed against hers again…

What?!

NO!

 _BANG!_

Having stopped paying attention to her surroundings, Ladybug now found herself having crashed face first into some sort of wall of glass. Her nose throbbed as it had become squashed at an odd angle, and her limbs were sprawled out, frozen in shock at the sudden, unexpected collision as her hand retained its grip on the string of her yo-yo, which remained hooked around the pillar of the mansion she had just crashed into.

Her head began spinning slightly, unable to properly process what had just happened. Ladybug cursed herself for having been so stupid as to not pay attention to where she was going. Now some rich person was probably going to be angry with her.

"Oh my god, Ladybug!" A familiar voice cried out.

Ladybug squinted at the glass to get a better look inside where the voice had come from, only to see none other than Adrien Agreste staring at her, his green eyes startled and concerned, and his mouth agape.

No!

This could not be happening to her!

This was all Ladybug needed. Once again, she had embarrassed herself in front of Adrien Agreste, although for once not as Marinette. The whole world would now know of Ladybug's shame, crashing into the bedroom window of her long-time crush, absolutely soaked to the bone. She must look really attractive now, her hair a frizzy, wet mess, her face and body still squished slightly against the window. Ladybug thought this was just about a new low for her.

Adrien gently pushed on the glass so that it slanted open, most likely intending for Ladybug to climb in, instead she ever so gracefully slid down the glass pane, face-planting the hardwood floor beneath her. A stinging pain shot up her face, snapping Ladybug out of her frozen state as she yelped in pain, sitting up in a flash, clutching her face.

"I'm so sorry!" Adrien gasped out, his eyes still wide and arms flailing around slightly, wanting to place his hands on her in concern, but he wasn't sure whether that would overstep her boundaries that he knew Ladybug always vigorously guarded.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked instead.

"Yep, I'm good," Ladybug squeaked before standing up, trying to save any dignity she had left after that. "S-sorry about crashing into your window."

Adrien chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away awkwardly. "It's alright, although not something I was expecting."

Ladybug giggled as well, though it came out nervous and slightly manic sounding. She internally cursed herself again. "I-I wasn't attention paying – I mean – uhhh – p-paying a-attention."

Adrien's eyes then met her face and he gasped, his smile suddenly fading. "You're hurt!"

"W-what? Pffft naaah, I'm good." Ladybug tried to act tough and casual but this was thwarted by her sudden shivering from having just been in the cold rain.

Adrien frowned slightly, but his eyes remained gentle and kind. "Don't be so silly, it's okay, I'll sort you out."

Before Ladybug could protest, Adrien disappeared into what she remembered being the door to his en suite. She continued to stand there, shivering and blushing like crazy. She could not believe she had just crashed into the bedroom of the love of her life.

She brought her hand slowly up to her face and gently touched the area that was stinging so badly. She gasped and yanked her hand away as she felt a large patch of broken skin situated on her right temple. She gazed down at her fingers and saw a small amount of blood staining her red suite covered fingers.

She knew she had hit the floor hard, but not that hard!

This was so humiliating!

Ladybug closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, mentally willing the ground with all the force she could muster to just swallow her up right now. No such luck though, despite her power of good luck. Ladybug often wondered if she even truly possessed that power at all, or if Tikki had just been telling fibs.

While Adrien was gone, Ladybug took this opportunity to properly look around his room. She had been in here on more than one occasion as Ladybug when Adrien or his father had been in danger, but she had never had a proper chance to look around and take the room in.

It looked like Adrien had everything he could ever possibly want in here. The room was huge with a large double bed in the corner, a rock climbing wall, basket ball hoops, a piano, giant TV set and computer, and a whole wall dedicated to his game, movie and book collections. As far as Ladybug could remember, his room had not changed much this past year and a half.

Something on his wall by his bed soon caught her attention though. A giant Ladybug poster. No Chat Noir, just Ladybug, which made her eye twitch slightly in embarrassment.

So, he was a huge Ladybug fan then? The sight gave Ladybug mixed emotions. On the one had she was flattered, but another part of her cringed internally as feelings of insecurity bubbled up inside her. Great, how could Marinette compete with that? She knew she was being ridiculous, after all, she _was_ Ladybug, and was getting jealous of _herself_ – but still.

Before she could dwell on those thoughts much longer, Adrien quickly made his way back into the room and strode over to Ladybug, still stood by the window, afraid to intrude in his room any further. In one hand, he carried a small green first aid kit and a large, folded up, fluffy towel in the other. He placed the first aid kit down on the ground before unfolding the towel and wrapping it around Ladybug's shoulders.

"You're freezing," he commented, a worried look on his face. "What were you doing out and about anyway? I thought you didn't normally patrol at this time?"

Was he telling her off? Ladybug frowned before his last sentence sunk in.

"How do you know what times I patrol?" Ladybug asked, her heart beginning to thud a little quicker in her chest.

Adrien froze before blushing and looking down at his feet. "T-the Ladyblog, yeah, the Ladyblog, i-it often shows when you're out and about patrolling."

"Oh." Was all Ladybug could lamely respond with as she couldn't resist wrapping the towel tighter around herself.

She barely noticed Adrien visibly relax again slightly out of the corner of her eye. The towel was incredibly soft and cosy; no doubt it was very expensive. It smelled like him too, and Ladybug couldn't resist subtly taking a deep breath, breathing in his intoxicating scent as he remained distracted, fiddling around inside the first aid kit.

Ladybug could feel her heart melting in her chest at Adrien's kindness and willingness to help her. He really was the sweetest person she had ever met, and her heart only swelled even more in her chest to make room for even more love for him – if that was even possible at this point.

"Thank you," Ladybug managed to mutter without stuttering and freaking out.

"What?"

Ladybug smiled gently down at him. "Thank you for helping me. Most other people would be quickly taking pictures to document Ladybug's clumsy moment."

Adrien chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll never speak of your little accident. Besides, I'm not done helping yet, we still need to sort that graze out."

Ladybug took a hesitant step back as Adrien finally pulled out a clear bottle of liquid and some cotton wool. He poured some of the liquid onto the cotton wool and Ladybug gulped, knowing the stinging pain that was about to come.

"R-really Adrien, i-it's okay, you've already done enough." Ladybug smiled awkwardly.

Adrien frowned again slightly. "You really should get that wound disinfected and cleaned my – um – Ladybug."

Ladybug was too busy wallowing in her own embarrassment and awkwardness to notice his weird stutter just then.

"Why? Is your floor really dirty?" Ladybug teased effortlessly, managing now to remain in her Ladybug persona without letting too much Marinette slip out.

Adrien snorted. "You're not _scared,_ are you Ladybug?"

Adrien used the time it took her to roll her eyes to close the remaining distance between them and gently dab Ladybug's grazed temple.

"OUCH!" Ladybug cried out, abruptly backing away, pouting adorably.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. The sooner this is done, the better you'll feel." Adrien smiled trying to gently reassure her. "I never had you down as squeamish Ladybug?"

Ladybug gasped dramatically. "Me? Squeamish? Don't be ridiculous."

Adrien laughed. "Prove it then, _oh brave superhero_."

He took a cautious step towards her, becoming more confident when Ladybug bit her lip, but didn't move. He closed the distance again and gently dabbed the graze on her face, clearing the blood away and disinfecting the wound.

Ladybug suddenly became hyper-aware of how close Adrien was stood to her. A light blush arose on both of their cheeks as Adrien attentively tended to her. Ladybug's heart was doing somersaults in her chest to the point she was worried she would go into cardiac arrest. She became surrounded by his scent, both from the towel and from his close proximity to her.

She continued shivering, although it was no longer from the cold. Her blood felt like it had turned to fire that was now spreading around her body, and her face began to heat up even more. Her eyes wildly scanned the room, trying to look and focus on anything other than Adrien being so close to her and kindly taking care of her.

She wanted to squeal, she wanted to dance, she wanted to kiss him with everything she had. But she couldn't. The impulse did not stop driving her wild though.

Again, she forced herself to remember that she was Ladybug, not Marinette right now. And even if she was in her civilian form, she still couldn't just grab Adrien and kiss him, as much as she wanted to. No doubt Adrien would reject her and wonder what the hell was going on. She had to keep her hormones in check.

Instead she tried to focus on the stinging sensation on her face as a distraction. It still hurt, but not as badly as before, and Ladybug wondered how exactly she was going to explain this to everyone.

She mentally slapped herself as she remembered she went to the same school as Adrien. He could put two and two together and then it would be all over for her!

Trying to calm herself down, she reminded herself that she had some make-up at home that she could use to cover it up. Problem solved. She would just have to make sure she didn't get rained on.

"There." Adrien's happy voice interrupted her train of thought. "All cleaned up. See? That wasn't so bad was it?"

Ladybug giggled. "Thank you, Adrien, you really didn't have to do any of this."

"It's no problem." Adrien's cheeks turned red as he looked away again. "Happy to help."

"You'd make a good superhero."

Adrien smirked, looking as though he was trying to suppress laughter. "Do you really think so?"

Ladybug nodded.

"Though, I really wouldn't want to get in between you and Chat Noir."

Ladybug nearly choked.

"M-me and…C-Chat Noir?" Ladybug managed to squeak out. "Pffft, I-I don't know what you're talking about? C-Chat Noir? W-we're just partners, f-friends, and you'd be a great a-addition to the team, if y-you're i-interested. I c-certainly won't mind. I m-mean –"

Adrien laughed. "Calm down Ladybug, I was only teasing."

"Oh…yeah…right…teasing," Ladybug gasped out before letting out a fake, nervous giggle, her blue eyes wide as saucers, her head spinning.

"No other hero could ever hold a candle to you, Ladybug." Adrien's blush deepened which he tried to hide by looking down.

Ladybug gulped. "I – umm – thank you? Though Chat Noir does deserve a lot of the praise. He's saved my life more times than I can count and I'd be nowhere within him." And she meant it too. Weird and awkward feelings aside, she knew that no matter what, she'd be lost without him.

Adrien gazed back up at her and beamed. "Well, I'm sure he's glad to have you too."

Ladybug froze, biting her lip nervously. "I'm not so sure after today. I'm worried I upset him."

"How so?" Adrien inquired, a confused look on his face.

"I just…I was acting weird today and I think I worried him."

"Ah."

"I didn't mean to, and I wasn't exactly lying to him when I said I didn't sleep well." Ladybug took a deep calming breath. "I'm just stressed and I felt awkward talking to him about it."

"I see," Adrien mused, "well, I'm sure he understands."

"You think so?"

Adrien smirked. "Like I said, I'm sure he does."

Ladybug clapped her hands together before gazing out of the window. The rain was beginning to stop, and the sun was now beginning to finally peak out from behind the dark, grey clouds. She knew she'd better make a move. The longer she spent out, the higher the chance her parents would realise that she'd vanished, and she didn't want to worry them.

"Well, I better head off," she announced.

Adrien suddenly looked miserable. "Aww, really?"

Ladybug shot him a reassuring smile, shocked at how sad Adrien actually sounded at the thought of her departure. She just reminded herself that it was likely because he was just a fan of hers. The thought saddened her, but she did her best to hide it.

"Unfortunately, yes. I've been out and about way too long and I don't want people to worry about me."

Mustering up all the courage that she could, she held her breath as she quickly hugged Adrien lightly around the shoulders. If she breathed in his scent again, or if she clung to him any tighter, she knew she would find it harder, almost impossible to leave.

Adrien froze at first before wrapping his arms around her in return. If only she could do this all the time, but right now she had to remind herself that it was merely a friendly gesture.

She quickly pulled back before she got carried away.

"Thank you again for helping me." She beamed, masking her pain as best she could.

"No problem," Adrien responded shyly.

Ladybug gave him one last smile before diving out of the still open window, feeling Adrien's eyes boring into her retreating form until she swung around the corner and launched herself back onto the rooftops of Paris. She glanced back at the Agreste mansion, the corner of the building still slightly visible, though Adrien, both luckily and unluckily, no longer was.

Ladybug let out a deep sigh as she began running for home once again. The open air against her graze made it sting slightly, though thankfully, she was no longer as cold and wet as she was before.

She couldn't believe that she had just spent so much intimate time with Adrien! He'd looked after her and made sure she was okay. She couldn't get over how amazing and kind he could be. The thought of what Adrien had just done for her made her feel slightly better about the dream. It had just been a fluke. She was one hundred percent still madly in love with the kind and wonderful Adrien Agreste, and nothing was ever going to come between that.

With a bright smile on her face, Ladybug finally landed safely back on her own balcony.

"Spots off."

Tikki once again flew into view, smiling down at her holder.

"Aww Marinette, that was so sweet."

"I know!" Marinette squealed. "He was so lovely wasn't he Tikki?! He made sure I was okay, helped me out and –" Marinette screamed out loud. "He hugged me! Tikki, he hugged me!"

Tikki giggled, "I know, I saw. I'm so happy for you Marinette, but please calm down and don't get too ahead of yourself. You were Ladybug, not Marinette."

"I know Tikki, but," Marinette sighed out dreamily, "it was still so wonderful. You watch Tikki, we'll be married before you know it."

" _Marinette!_ "

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, no getting ahead of myself." Marinette tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down, only to end up ecstatically giggling again.

Tikki rolled her eyes before flying down and hiding in Marinette's pink purse as she climbed down back into her bedroom. As her feet touched the floor, Marinette couldn't help but do a little giddy dance of happiness, leaping around her room, trying her best to contain her squeals of delight.

"Marinette? Honey, is that you?"

Sabine Cheng's voice interrupted Marinette's happy moment, snapping her daughter out of her dance as the trapdoor that led into her bedroom slowly opened. Sabine's head popped up, and she smiled warmly at her daughter.

"There you are, I came to look for you in your room earlier, only you weren't here," Sabine explained, starting to look a little bit worried.

"Err, right, I was on my balcony, mom," Marinette lied, praying that her mother had not gone up to check her balcony.

"Oh right," Sabine replied before frowning slightly, "you've been up there all morning in your pyjamas?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, I came in when it started raining."

Sabine then gasped. "Oh Marinette! What happened to your face?!"

Marinette grimaced. "I kinda fell and grazed my face when I was rushing back in from the rain."

"Oh Marinette, what are you like?" Sabine chuckled lightly, but her voice was still laced with concern. The young superhero relaxed as her mother bought her excuses.

"Please try to be more careful." Her mother lightly scolded. "And you might want to get changed, you still look slightly damp and I don't want you catching a cold."

.

"Kid, you've been standing, gawping out of the window for the past twenty minutes. She's gone," Plagg groaned out, watching his holder's back as he remained staring out of the window.

"She's so amazing," he whispered in his typical love-struck voice.

Plagg rolled his cat-like green eyes. "Yeah yeah, we all get it Adrien. Now where's my precious cheese?"

Adrien finally turned back around, snapping out of his daze to glare playfully at his kwami. "You know there's more to life than cheese?"

"Blasphemy!" Plagg yelled. "Not to me there isn't!"

Adrien rolled his eyes, heading towards the safe where he stored all of Plagg's camembert. He had not had the chance to feed his kwami between the time he managed to sneak back into his room and the time Ladybug had suddenly, and unexpectedly, crashed into his window.

It certainly was the shock of his life, not that he was complaining. It had been amazing to be with her, even if it was just a short amount of time. It was nice to talk to her while he was outside his costume, and his heart did a flip when he remembered how she revealed she'd be lost without Chat Noir.

He picked a portion of cheese out, and before the young hero could even hand it over, his gluttonous kwami had zoomed over, snatching the stinky cheese out of Adrien's hand and all but swallowed it whole.

"Ew, Plagg, that's disgusting!" Adrien chastised.

Plagg merely rolled his eyes. "Not as disgusting as the lovey-dovey display I had to sit and watch earlier. YUCK!"

"Hey! We weren't being lovey-dovey!"

"Kid, you look at Ladybug the way I look at camembert."

"And I've told you, Ladybug is a million times better than cheese." Adrien sighed dreamily as he collapsed onto his bed, staring at his ceiling.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Plagg grunted as he hovered above Adrien. "But seriously Adrien, it's been nearly two years. Don't you think if Ladybug was interested, she would have shown you by now? Maybe you should start paying attention to…ummm…girls in your class."

Adrien groaned, "seriously Plagg, I really don't understand why you keep trying to push me towards the girls in my class."

Plagg made a weird noise before crossing his arms grumpily over his little chest. "I don't know, you just might start to _notice things_."

Adrien turned onto his side, his thoughts drowning in the memory of Ladybug's smile and embrace. "I don't know what you're talking about Plagg."

The only girl he could ever bring himself to pay attention to was his lady.

Plagg sighed. "Ah kid, you really are hopeless."

* * *

 **Some fluffy Ladrien just for you. Thank you for reading. At the moment it seems like my update schedule will roughly be around every weekend. Feel free to leave your opinions.**


	3. A Sickly Bug

**I just realised that this story may conflict with the canon of the show seen as new episodes keep being released and stuff. I've personally only watched up to the latest English released episode of season 2 so some aspects of this story might conflict with what has already been revealed. So I guess this story is kinda AU in a way? I'm trying to stick as close to the universe as I can, but there likely will be differences as new episodes of the show are released.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Sickly Bug**

Ladybug couldn't contain the wide smile as she took in the view before her. All of Paris was laid out beneath her, the city lights shining, morphing into a blur as she squinted her eyes to try and see further out. She pressed her fingers against the metal fence of the second most top balcony of the Eiffel Tower, her breath caught in awe at just how beautiful Paris looked at night. She had the whole balcony to herself.

Or so she had thought…

Startled, Ladybug looked down as she felt a warm hand snake its way around hers, its thumb gently rubbing the top of her hand. Her eyes followed the arm connected to the hand all the way up to see Adrien smiling softly at her. His eyes were covered by the shadow of his golden blond locks, and Ladybug wished she could gaze into those endless, peaceful green fields.

Why did he keep hiding his eyes from her? It was unfortunate as they were so beautiful. Ladybug felt like she could gaze into them forever.

"A-Adrien?" Ladybug stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't respond. All Ladybug could feel was his eyes burning holes into her. Although she couldn't see his eyes, she could sense him staring intensely at her. It began to make her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Is something the matter Adrien?" Ladybug asked slowly, panic beginning to become evident in her voice.

"Ssssh," Adrien gently shushed her, his lips barely moving. "Everything is just wonderful."

Ladybug gulped as he began leaning towards her, hesitantly, slightly fearful, and Ladybug felt her cheeks beginning to heat up. Her heart suddenly began to try and pound its way out of her chest, and all she could do was remain frozen as Adrien continued to slowly lean towards her.

After what felt like an eternity, Adrien's lips finally gently pressed against hers in a ghostly kiss that felt unsure. Despite their skin barely touching, Ladybug instantly found herself wanting more. It felt like he was teasing her, and Ladybug began trembling as his hands gently rubbed up her arms before slowly curling around the middle of her back.

The world around her seemed to freeze, the traffic and people beneath came to a sudden halt, the gentle night time breeze stopped, and suddenly it was just her and Adrien. He began leaning in slowly again, and this time Ladybug closed her eyes, waiting to enjoy this blissful, romantic moment with the love of her life.

This was all Ladybug had ever dreamed about. Just her and Adrien, together.

Her happiness was short lived, however, as once again that devious nagging thought charged its way to the front of her brain, pounding against the barriers for attention.

 _He's kissing Ladybug. He's not kissing Marinette._

Through her closed eyelids, Ladybug felt tears beginning to form as the pain of this information coursed through her body and infected her heart, causing her vital organ to clench painfully.

But so what?! For once, Ladybug wanted to be selfish. She served her city, saving millions of innocent lives every time she defeated one of Hawkmoth's akumas. Was she not at least slightly entitled to enjoy this moment, despite the fact she was currently Ladybug and not Marinette? Adrien's affections were something she always craved, with or without the mask on, therefore did she not have the right to indulge just this once?

Her inner turmoil was cut short by Adrien's lips finally meeting her own, this time more firm, confident and loving. All Ladybug could do was melt and savour the moment. The kiss was so sweet and loving, and Ladybug finally felt the tears that had building up finally spill over, letting them gently cascade down her pale cheeks, but she didn't care. All that consumed her thoughts now was Adrien, and how perfect his lips felt against hers; it was if they were made for each other.

Ladybug finally moved her arms and pressed them against Adrien's chest, and she sensed his arms move up too. His leather covered hands gently stroked the tears away from her cheeks.

 _Leather?_

The shock cut through Ladybug like a sharp knife, and her heart faltered. Had his hands not been bear?

She abruptly pulled away from the kiss, her eyes wide and full of panic. Her whole body became rigid as she took in the sight before her. Where Adrien had just been stood before her, now stood Chat Noir, his green cat-like eyes slightly hooded as he smiled lovingly down at her before he took in her frightened expression. His expression then morphed into one of worry.

Ladybug tried to flee, but his grip on her was tight.

 _She had been kissing Chat Noir?!_ Her mind could not process a single coherent thought other than that one. _She had been kissing Chat Noir?!_ Her partner, her best friend?! This wasn't right. It was weird, and Ladybug just had to get away, but Chat Noir's grip remained firm, and Ladybug was unable to bolt like she wanted to do. She knew Chat Noir was strong, but not _that_ strong.

"What's the matter, my lady?" Chat asked, his voice gentle and warm. "It's just me."

Any coherent words that Ladybug could manage to splutter out became stuck in her throat, so all she could do was stare up at her partner, her eyes still wide and fearful. Without her brain telling them to do so, her hands began stroking his chest slightly, moving up to his shoulders. Then, to her own shock and horror, she pulled Chat Noir's face down to meet hers, and she crashed her lips clumsily against his.

Chat instantly responded, tightening his grip even more around her waist and pulling her impossibly close, their bodies tightly pressed up against each other. Unlike her kiss with Adrien, this one was passionate, hungry, yet still loving. She wrapped her fingers around his messy, thick golden hair, and all the while her brain was screaming at her.

 _What was she doing?! This was Chat Noir, so why was she kissing him like this?!_

But her body refused to listen and just kept on kissing him as if her life depended on it. Like he was the only water source in the middle of a dry, hot desert.

 _What was happening to her?!_

Marinette once again shot up into a sitting position in the middle of her bed. Her breathing coming out in rough gasps as if she had been holding her breath for a long time. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, her pigtailed black hair in a scruffy mess as large droplets of cold sweat dripped down her body.

She was hot, incredibly hot, and her throat was dry and scratchy. Her head was pounding almost as fast as her heart, causing Marinette to groan in pain.

"Marinette!" Tikki cried out as she woke up and looked at the ghostly pale girl before her. "Are you alright?"

Marinette clutched her cramping stomach, clenching her teeth together and shaking her head. Tikki flew over as fast as she could and placed her tiny little arm against her charge's skin.

"Mari, you're burning up!"

But Marinette could not bring herself to listen as she thought about the dream she had just had.

"Not again," Marinette whispered, but it was still loud enough for her kwami to hear.

Tikki gasped. "Oh no, I hope you're not delirious."

Marinette hoped that was a good enough explanation for her dream. She kept chanting to herself in her head that it was only a fever dream and that she had nothing to worry about. She had no interest in kissing Chat Noir, and her brain was probably just getting confused because she spent so much time around him.

Yeah, that had to be it. She was in love with Adrien.

Marinette whimpered as her head continued to pound. "Oh Tikki, I feel awful."

"It's probably from when you got caught in the rain yesterday." Tikki cuddled up to Marinette's burning skin, trying her best to comfort the sickly girl.

With a groan, Marinette forced what little energy she had in order to reach for her phone to check the time. The time her phone presented her with gave Marinette even more caused to groan: five o'clock in the morning. She only had an hour until her alarm went off and she had to be up for school.

She knew she was in no fit state to go to school today, but she couldn't afford to miss it and fall behind. She had a hard enough time keeping up with her work as it was with all the responsibilities she had to juggle. It would be even harder if she fell a whole day behind.

Hopefully, she could fall back asleep and get that last precious hour of rest before she had to face the day. With that thought, Marinette slowly laid herself back down and stared into the darkness of her room, pressing her fingers against her still tingling lips, her dream refusing to leave her thoughts alone just like yesterday.

The young hero sighed, turning around in her bed to face her pink wall that was decorated with a few pictures of Adrien; cut outs from magazines and a few photos which she managed to be in with him. She concentrated hard on his perfect model face in order to try and banish any thoughts of Chat Noir, but yet, no matter how hard she tried, her feline companion kept sneaking in there.

The memory of his lips against hers refused to leave her alone. Would that be what kissing him felt like?

 _No! Focus on sleep, Marinette!_

She really needed to quit thinking about Chat Noir, otherwise she would go crazy.

Marinette huffed at herself as she reminded herself how silly she was being. She had done nothing wrong. She couldn't control her dreams, it just seemed her subconscious was getting confused in her feverish state. Maybe her illness wasn't caused by the rain after all, but she had in fact picked up a virus that began to take its toll on her the night before?

With a shiver, Marinette pulled her covers over her head, sniffling slightly, her nose becoming clogged as she remained lying down. Her head felt like it was made out of lead, and her body kept switching rapidly from hot to cold. In the middle of a hot flush, Marinette kicked her covers off in frustration, tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable, her dream still refusing to leave her alone.

Before Marinette knew it, her alarm began beeping loudly, causing her to huff, having got no sleep after her dream. She swiped her phone screen, turning the alarm off before laying back down and staring at the ceiling for a few minutes.

"I really don't think getting up is a good idea, Marinette," Tikki advised, trying to suppress a yawn.

Marinette sighed. "I have to Tikki; I can't afford to miss a day of school and risk falling behind."

As slowly as possible, so as to keep her head from pounding too much, Marinette slowly sat up, her stomach churning at the movement, and her muscles and joints began to ache. Finally, Marinette managed to sit up properly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as best she could, all the while trying to ignore her pounding headache, queasy stomach, and achy muscles.

"Besides," Marinette continued, "I'll probably start feeling better once I'm out and about and distracted."

Tikki sighed, but decided not to argue, knowing how stubborn Marinette could be sometimes.

Marinette climbed down from her bed and quickly changed out of her pyjamas, sporting her usual pink three quarters, white t-shirt with her own unique design, and black jacket, with pink pumps.

She headed into the bathroom afterwards and groaned as she caught site of herself in the mirror. She looked like a wreck. Her skin was paler than usual to a point where she looked almost grey, and she had dark circles under her eyes, and not to mention the lovely graze she now sported on the side of her temple. Marinette, had almost completely forgotten about that, thankful now she had managed to look at her reflection. She needed to cover that thing up.

After brushing her teeth and covering her graze up, Marinette made her way downstairs, ready to face her parents, knowing the intense concern she was going to get, and that they, like Tikki, would try and convince her to stay home.

"Oh my!" Sabine gasped. "Sweetheart, you do not look well at all."

"I'm fine, mom." Marinette did her best to reassure her. "I'm sure I'll get better throughout the day."

Sabine placed her hands on her hips. "I sincerely hope you aren't thinking of going to school today?"

Marinette sighed. "I need to go mom, I don't want to fall behind."

"Nonsense, Alya can just drop the work off for you."

"But if I'm not there, then I won't know how to do the work, and I don't want to inconvenience Alya."

Sabine said nothing as she frowned in concern at her sickly daughter.

"How about if I get any worse, I promise I'll come home and rest?" Marinette offered hopefully. She was grateful her parents were so concerned, and she would love nothing more than to stay home and rest and eat some of her mother's delicious soup, but falling behind in her work was one thing that incredibly paranoid Marinette. She had enough on her plate without having to deal with that.

Sabine thought for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Alright," she answered slowly, "but please try and eat a little something before you leave to keep your energy up."

Sabine pushed a plate of croissants towards her.

"Thanks mom." Marinette collapsed onto her stool and slowly picked at a croissant, slowly ripping small parts off and placing them in her mouth, chewing carefully, and waiting to see how her stomach felt before taking another bite.

After finishing, Marinette knew that she couldn't stomach any more, and Sabine reluctantly let her daughter head out. Marinette bid a quick good morning to her father as she past him in the bakery before rushing out the door as best as her achy muscles would let her. Her slow eating had made her run late, so now Marinette was in a huge rush to make it before the bell rang.

In her typical clumsy fashion, it wasn't long before Marinette collided with something due to her eyes being so heavily focused on the door of her school, where students were already starting to make their way inside. The force of the collision knocked Marinette backwards, and she landed hard against the concrete beneath her.

 _Great, another injury to add to the collection,_ Marinette thought to herself bitterly.

She rubbed her bruised skin before glancing up to see what she had collided with. Marinette gasped when she realised it was a person. A tall man with pale, aging skin with wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black, and his hair was black and pulled back into a slick pony tail that fell in the centre of his should blades. He was dressed in black too: a black leather jacket that fell to his knees, black pants, black leather derby shoes and a black bowler hat. The man looked down at her in surprise.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Marinette spluttered out. "I wasn't looking where I was going, my mistake."

The man smiled kindly down at her. "It's no problem Madame, as long as you're alright." He reached out his hand to her which Marinette graciously took, letting him help her to her feet easily.

"Thank you, sir," Marinette thanked awkwardly.

"It's no trouble Madame…?" He dragged the final word out, hinting he was after a name.

"Oh, it's Dupain-Cheng." Marinette did her best to smile politely, her eyes darting back to the school's main entrance where all of the students had now long gone inside.

"I take it you're related somehow to the bakers down the street?" He asked, his eyes lighting up at the mention of her surname.

"Umm, yeah, the owners are my parents."

"Really?" The man's eyes flashed. "I may have to drop in there, won't I?"

"Right," Marinette replied awkwardly.

Honestly, this man was starting to creep her out slightly now.

"Well, sorry again for running into you, but I'm really late for school. I'm sure I'll see you in the bakery sometime." Marinette began to take off again, not waiting for his response.

The man watched her as she ran for the school across the road, as a large grin began to form on his face.

"I'm sure you will," he whispered before pulling his phone out from the inner pocket of his jacket. He quickly selected a contact and placed the phone to his ear, waiting.

"Hello?" A quiet voice asked from the other end.

"It's me, Madame. I've definitely found her."

Marinette was out of breath by the time she reached the school doors. She knew she had already missed roll call, so she headed straight to her first class. Running was certainly not making her feel any better as her muscles begged her to stop, and her head began pounding even more if that was even possible. The feeling of queasiness increased, and Marinette clutched her stomach, silently begging her body not to vomit in the middle of school. That would just add more embarrassment to her already rapidly growing list this week – and it was only Monday!

"I'm here!" Marinette yelled as she burst into science class, tripping on the threshold of the doorway as she desperately tried to run inside. She landed on her hands and knees before awkwardly looking up at the teacher and the rest of the class. Most of the class burst out laughing, and she could see Alya facepalming out of the corner of her eye.

"Nice of you to finally join us miss Dupain-Cheng," Ms Mendeleieve snapped whilst still writing instructions on the board. "Now pick yourself up and sit down!"

Marinette sighed, her face turning bright red as she picked her belongings off the floor, refusing to make eye contact with anyone in the class. She sat down as quietly as possible before placing her head in her hands, trying to the slow the spinning, dizzying sensation.

"Girl, what's the matter?" Alya whispered to her in concern.

"Nothing," Marinette muttered, still refusing to look up, "just woke up not feeling too great."

Alya placed a hand on her friend's back, rubbing soothing circles on it as Marinette tried her best not to cry at just how awful this day was going already. First, she had another weird, vivid dream, then she woke up feeling like death, crashed into some random stranger in the street, was late for class, and on top of that, she had embarrassed herself into front of the whole class. Could this day possibly get any worse?

Unfortunately, Alya's soothing hand was doing little to help, only serving to remind Marinette of how much of a mess she was this morning.

"Okay class, now today we will be experimenting with indigestion tablets to see how they work in the stomach," Ms Mendeleieve announced, turning back towards the class.

Marinette groaned at the mention of the word stomach, refusing to pay attention to the teacher's instructions, knowing that if she did, she would likely throw up.

"It's okay," Alya tried to reassure her, "I can do most of the work if you want."

Marinette nodded gratefully, finally emerging from her hiding spot in her hands as Alya began pouring the hydrochloric acid into a beaker. Marinette's eyes began to absentmindedly wonder around the room before she accidentally made eye contact with Chloé, who smirked at Marinette.

 _Oh great._

"Hey Marinette, the graveyard called." Chloé sniggered. "They said they were missing a corpse."

Sabrina giggled next to her, and Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Don't listen to her," Alya hissed, glaring daggers at the blonde girl sat across from them.

"Lay off Chlo," Adrien chimed in much to Marinette's shock. "Marinette can't help it if she's ill."

Chloé scoffed. "Well, she should've stayed home so she wouldn't spread any of her disgusting germs to us. Oooh, look Sabrina!" Chloé smirked at Marinette as she picked up the beaker on the table in front of her. "Just look at how the stomach is _bubbling_ as the pill dissolves."

Marinette gagged and the rest of the class watched in horror as Marinette turned green.

"I gotta go!" Marinette cried out, placing a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with panic.

She darted out of her seat as fast as possible, and was out of the classroom in a flash. She vaguely heard Alya apologising to Ms Mendeleieve, explaining that she was ill, before hearing her best friend dart out after her. But Marinette didn't have time to turn around and thank her friend. She dashed into the nearest girls' bathroom, which was luckily empty, and vomited up the little contents of her stomach into the first toilet she could reach.

Once she finally finished gagging, Marinette flushed the toilet before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and placing the lid down, sitting on it and placing her head in her hands to hopefully slow the spinning down. Through the ringing in her ears, Marinette just about heard Alya gently knocking on the door.

"Mari?" Alya asked gently. "Are you okay?"

Marinette didn't reply, worried that any more movement would cause her to throw up again. She faintly heard Alya moving into the cubical next to her, and Marinette looked up when the light above her was suddenly blocked out. Alya had climbed on top of the toilet and was now gazing over at her.

"Awww, Mari." Alya gasped. "You look awful."

"Gee thanks." Marinette sniffed.

Alya rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, girl, now can you let me in?"

Marinette sniffed again, nodded her head, and unlocked her cubical door so Alya could squeeze in. Alya locked the door behind her to give Marinette some privacy before she bent down to give her best friend a gentle hug.

"I don't want you catching it," Marinette protested, however, she still hugged her friend back, craving the much needed comfort.

"Don't sweat it, girl." Alya pulled back but kept her hands on Marinette's shoulders. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Marinette shook her head. "I'm not going home."

"Say what?" Alya demanded. "You can't stay here, you're a wreck. You need rest."

"I can't afford to fall behind in my work."

Alya frowned, but before she could respond, the ground began to shake ever so slightly.

No!

 _No no no no no!_

 _This could not be happening?! Not now!_

But sure enough, the ground kept continuing to shake, and soon, screams could be heard in the distance. The evidence was now undeniable. Another akuma was attacking the city for the second day in a row. Marinette wasn't sure how much more bad luck she could take. It was all becoming too much.

"Another villain attack!" Alya yelled excitedly, before glancing worryingly down at Marinette.

Marinette gave her a small smile. "It's okay, go get your big scoop."

She wasn't necessarily happy about her friend running into danger to record the battle that was about to come, but she needed to be on her own in order to transform into Ladybug before the akuma caused too much damage.

"You sure? Will you be okay?" Alya asked.

"I'll be fine, you go ahead."

Alya gave her friend a quick hug before darting off, phone in hand and ready to record for the Ladyblog. Marinette rubbed her aching forehead as Tikki flew out from her bag with a surprisingly stern look on her face.

"No, Marinette."

"Huh?"

"You're not transforming in this state, it's far too dangerous."

"I can't leave Chat Noir out there alone," Marinette explained, shocked that Tikki was willing to just let an akuma run wild all because Marinette was feeling slightly ill.

Tikki had started shaking her head before Marinette had even finished speaking. "No, Marinette, if you transform while in this state you run the risk of –"

But Marinette didn't have time for this. She had to stop the akuma. Paris was counting on her, and she was not going to let the innocent people who counted on her down. Without listening to a single word Tikki was saying, Marinette stood up.

"Tikki, spots on!"

"Wait, Marinette! NOOO!" Tikki cried out as she was drawn into Marinette's earrings.

Within seconds, Marinette became Ladybug, and she quickly left the school. She had hoped her transformation would make her feel a little better, but if she was being honest, she was starting to feel worse.

Ladybug couldn't bring herself to let it matter though. She had a job to do, ill or not. Her eyes scanned around, finally resting on a group of people running down the street screaming. However, before Ladybug could take off, she clutched her stomach in pain as her vision began to blur around the edges, dizziness consuming her.

"Everything alright, my lady?" A familiar voice chuckled behind her.

Ladybug turned around, and Chat Noir gasped.

"Ladybug, what's wrong?"

Ladybug's head snapped back into the direction of the screaming.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she answered a little too quickly, "let's just find the akuma."

Chat Noir frowned at her, watching as she took off ahead of him. Ladybug could feel him keeping a close eye on her as they jumped from building to building, following the screams, and running in the opposite direction of the fleeing civilians.

Ladybug's headache grew worse, and a layer of sweat began to develop on her skin. Breathing became a struggle, and she began to feel herself stumbling slightly.

"Ladybug?" Chat Noir asked slowly, his tone incredibly worried.

Ladybug ignored him, ready to jump and grab onto the ledge of the next building ahead of them. As she jumped and reached her arm out, her vision blurred over completely, like her eyes had steamed up. They then went from blurry to double vision, and Ladybug felt herself swipe at the air as she missed the ledge completely. She barely registered Chat Noir cry out behind her as her ears once again began ringing.

After falling through the air, Ladybug's back collided with something metal beneath her, and all she could do was gaze up at the sky before her vision rapidly blackened.

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 **Uh oh. Feel free to let me know your opinions.**


	4. A Whole New Side

**Well, this chapter was meant to but uploaded yesterday, but for some reason fanfiction wouldn't let me upload the file. *sigh* Anyway, hi again! Thank you so much for the reviews. Feedback is always much appreciated. Also thank you and welcome to everyone who has followed this story or added it to their favourites.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: A Whole New Side**

"LADYBUG!" That was all Chat Noir could cry out in horror as he watched his lady fall through the air.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Ladybug reached for the ledge of the building across the street from where she was. He had not been too far behind her, his eyes glued to her every movement; he knew something was definitely wrong with her. Frustratingly, all he could do was remain frozen as he watched Ladybug swipe at the air, her whole body seeming to go limp mid-leap, her face confused and frightened.

The look on her face would undoubtedly haunt Chat Noir for the rest of his days. He did nothing to help her! Just watched, frozen and pathetic, as his lady plummeted down to the ground, her back coming to a sudden and painful rest on the parked car below her.

Heart lurching in his chest, Chat Noir let out an unintelligent scream as he watched the love of his life's eyes flutter closed, her face completely relaxing.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir heard another familiar voice yell, but he could not tear his eyes away from his lady.

Shaking his head and fighting back tears, he forced himself out of his frozen state of shock before using his staff to quickly jump down from the building and onto the street below. A sob got caught in his throat as his eyes once again landed on Ladybug, realising that she still hadn't moved. This time a figure was now leaning over her, yelling at her, but Chat Noir barely registered what this person was saying. He felt like he was underwater, sound muffled as it reached his ears, drowned out by the sound of the intense thudding of his heart in his chest.

Everything around him began to speed up to a normal pace again, the underwater sensation began to vanish as his superhero instincts began to kick in again. He couldn't afford to break down nor let his fear and panic consume him right now. Ladybug would kill him for doing so. He had to snap out of it and deal with the situation. Paris needed him. Ladybug needed him.

He would not let them down.

With new-found resolve, Chat Noir ran towards Ladybug's limp form, finally recognising the figure stood over his partner: Alya. Phone clutched in hand, Alya was screaming at her idol to wake up, to give her a sign that she was conscious, to squeeze her hand in reply.

Alya whipped her head around, turning to Chat Noir with tears in her eyes.

"What happened?!" She choked out, panic in her voice.

"I don't know," Chat Noir whispered in horror, delicately placing his fingers on Ladybug's neck, afraid of what he might not feel in doing so, confirming his very worst nightmare.

Chat Noir smiled shakily and let out a loud sigh of relief as he felt the unmistakable sensation of Ladybug's rapidly beating pulse.

She was alive!

Thank heavens!

"She's alive." Chat Noir's voice shook with relief, giving Ladybug's cheek a quick, tender stroke with his thumb.

"But what's wrong with her? What do we do?" Alya gasped out.

Chat Noir frowned at the sickly pale face of his partner. A layer of sweat had developed on her skin, and her breathing was shallow while the rest of her body was deathly still. What had gotten into his lady? First, she had been acting weird yesterday and now this? Was she sick? Had something happened to her that he wasn't aware of?

Lately, Ladybug was on the verge of giving Chat Noir a heart attack with her strange behaviour. This incident certainly nearly gave him one. He loved her with every fibre of his being, but he'd be damned if he didn't admit that she would likely put him in an early grave.

A sudden roar snapped Chat Noir out of his musings, and he and Alya looked up in terror as a giant man with ripped clothes and wild hair suddenly stood over them.

"Who's small now?!" he growled out, his eyes zeroing in on Chat Noir and Ladybug, a purple butterfly appearing in front of his eyes before he let out another roar.

Chat Noir looked frantically down at Ladybug, who was still showing no signs of regaining consciousness. The giant slammed his fist against the building next to them causing some rubble to fall down on top of them. Chat Noir dove on top of Ladybug shielding her with his body. He raised his staff up with one hand and began spinning it rapidly protecting him, Ladybug and Alya from the falling debris.

"I've got to get Ladybug out of here!" Chat Noir yelled over the crashing of falling bricks. "I can't stop the akuma and protect Ladybug at the same time."

Chat Noir coughed violently as a cloud of dust settled on top of them before he looked up as the dirt cloud began to clear, panicking as he saw Alya was nowhere in sight.

"Alya!" Chat called out.

"Hey shorty!" Chat heard her shout. "Bet you can't catch me!"

Chat Noir's green eyes finally settled on Alya, who had somehow managed to run to the other side of the street without him realising. She was gazing up at the giant with a grin on her face and was waving her arms around rapidly to get his attention. Chat Noir's shock turned to horror as he watched Alya bend down, pick a brick up off the ground, and throw it towards the akumatized victim.

 _That_ definitely got his attention.

"Come and get me shorty!"

 _What on earth was Alya thinking?! She was going to get herself killed!_

The giant growled, his movements slow and clumsy as he turned around towards Alya. Alya winked at Chat Noir, before desperately gesturing for him to get Ladybug out of there. She then took off running as Chat Noir watched her with his eyes wide in panic and his mouth agape. He needed to get Ladybug out of here, but he couldn't just let Alya get herself hurt like that. She was a smart, brave girl but she was still just a civilian.

Chat Noir glanced back down at Ladybug with a new plan in mind. He needed to get her out of here quickly and then stop the akuma on his own. It would be difficult, but Ladybug wouldn't just want him to stand here conflicted.

Gently placing his hands under her body, Chat Noir began to slowly lift her up, cradling her against his chest. Her head fell against his shoulder and her arms limply hung down. The black attired hero froze as his lady let out a small cough before moaning slightly before then going back to being silent and limp. He really wasn't sure if moving her was the best idea; he had no idea if she had injured her back or head in the fall. He just knew he couldn't leave her lying there.

Being as careful as possible, Chat Noir hopped from one building to another before stopping once he realised he didn't exactly know where he was going. He had just fled, desperate to get his precious lady out of harm's way. He could no longer hear the roars of the giant, so he came to stop, believing he was a safe enough distance away from the action.

Chat looked down at Ladybug's vulnerable looking face and his heart broke. He had no idea what to do. Did he take her to the hospital? What if she de-transformed in front of the doctors and nurses, revealing her identity to the world? What would she think of him for putting her in such a position? But he didn't feel like he had a choice. Ladybug seemed really sick and most likely injured. He couldn't just ignore that fact.

Chat Noir needed advice. Divine advice.

"Claws in," Chat Noir whispered.

He knew he was taking a risk. Ladybug could wake up at any moment and see Adrien standing before her with Plagg and realise he was Chat Noir. At that moment though, Adrien couldn't bring himself to care about his secret. He needed to figure out how he was going to save Ladybug.

Plagg came spiralling out his ring before finally coming to a standstill and hovering over Ladybug's unconscious form.

"Man, she hit that car hard!" Plagg let out a light chuckle before becoming serious, something Adrien rarely saw Plagg do.

Plagg gazed down at Ladybug with a frown on his face. "Stupid girl! Tikki better be okay."

"What are you talking about, Plagg?" Adrien asked desperately, his grip tightening on Ladybug, not liking Plagg's hostility towards her.

"She obviously transformed when she was sick. A very stupid thing to do," Plagg grumbled out, his eyes narrowing at the unconscious girl in Adrien's arms. "When you transform, us kwamis become almost like a part of you, that's how we're able to give you your powers. We see everything you see, feel everything you feel. That also means if you're injured and get sick, there's nothing we can do about it. It's an aspect of your physical form that merges with us, much like how your ankle was still injured that one time you transformed. Ladybug must have transformed while she was sick and her kwami absorbed the sickness, hindering her powers and abilities. She'll be fine though…I think…"

Adrien stood there in shock at this new information. "But what do we do, do we take her to the hospital?"

Plagg shook his head. "No, but I know a place we can take her where she'll be safe until she recovers. It's not far from here. Transform so we can get down from here and then drop the transformation again, so I can show you the way."

Adrien nodded obediently. "Plagg, claws out."

Soon enough, Adrien was back as Chat Noir. He shot a worried glance down at Ladybug, wondering why his lady thought it would be a good idea to transform while ill. He shook his head, already knowing the answer: her darn stubbornness.

With a determined look on his face, Chat Noir leapt down from the building and into a quiet ally way. Doing as Plagg told him, he released his transformation as soon as he landed, still keeping a firm grip on Ladybug, carrying her bridal style through the back streets of Paris, following Plagg without a word. They soon reached just an ordinary looking building, though Adrien had no idea what he expected in the first place. He looked to Plagg for guidance, and his little black cat kwami nodded at him, encouraging him forwards.

Shifting Ladybug's weight slightly, Adrien cautiously placed his hand on the door handle and pushed it down. The door clicked, and he slowly creaked the old wooden door open. The inside was dark, although from what Adrien could see, the owner of this place certainly liked Chinese style décor. Plagg flew inside without so much as a second thought, but Adrien refused to let his guard down, despite how much he trusted Plagg's judgement. He certainly wasn't willing to gamble with Ladybug's safety.

"Hurry up!" Plagg hissed causing Adrien to frown.

He shut the door behind him and followed Plagg into the next room. Adrien jumped at the sight of an elderly man, wearing a red Hawaiian style shirt, meditating in the centre of the room. The man didn't move an inch until Plagg cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry master, I know you said I should never bring him here, but this is an emergency," Plagg explained, and Adrien shot his kwami a worried glance, not liking this situation one bit.

The old man smiled before slowly opening his eyes.

"There's no need to be afraid Chat Noir," he gently reassured.

Adrien gasped. "H-how? W-what…?"

"It's okay," the old man said before slowly struggling to stand up, wobbling slightly before he stood up straight. "Your secret is more than safe with me. My name is Master Fu. Now why don't you bring Ladybug over here so I can examine her."

Adrien frowned, taking a step back, tightening his grip on Ladybug.

Master Fu smiled. "It's alright Chat Noir, she's more than safe with me. You did the right thing bringing her here. She knows who I am, she trusts me, and I hope you can too."

"Ladybug knows you!" Adrien gasped, glancing down at his partner.

What else was she hiding from him? That thought pained him, but he pushed it aside for now; her safety and wellbeing was more important.

"Master Fu is the last remaining guardian of the miraculous," Plagg explained, "he's also a healer who can help Ladybug. He's the best doctor for her right now."

Adrien's brain couldn't handle all of this new information. His head was spinning, and his heart was pounding. All this time he thought he knew Plagg. Knew Ladybug. Why did his lady not see fit to tell him about the guardian of the miraculous? Surely that was important information? He thought they were partners, equals, best friends.

Adrien was beginning to feel like an idiot. However, he quickly shook his head, once again banishing those thoughts. The longer it took him to get Ladybug help, he risked putting Paris and innocent people in danger. The akuma was still at large after all.

Adrien sighed, stepping forwards into the room before coming to a stop in front of Master Fu. He gazed longingly down at Ladybug, his face morphing into sorrow as he realised Ladybug was now far paler than before.

Master Fu motioned for Adrien to place Ladybug down on a cushioned mat on the wooden floor. He did as he was told, gently laying Ladybug down as Master Fu placed a small pillow under her head. Ladybug groaned, but otherwise did not move nor stir. Adrien gently stoked her cheek, staring down at her sadly, wiping away a few beads of sweat on her cheek.

"If you know who I am, does that mean you know who Ladybug is?" Adrien couldn't help but inquire.

Master Fu was silent for a moment.

"Yes."

Adrien let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. "What's she like?"

Master Fu smiled down at the boy. "A truly unique and amazing young lady."

Adrien smiled despite everything, his green eyes remaining glued to Ladybug's face.

Master Fu laughed. "Don't worry, you're not the first Chat Noir to fall under the spell of Ladybug."

"What?" Adrien's head snapped up to look at Master Fu who merely chuckled in response.

"Ladybug is quite safe here. She'll be okay, but I have some healing to do. If I remember correctly, there's still an akuma loose in the city?"

"Alya!" Adrien exclaimed.

He hoped that she was alright.

Adrien then turned to look back down at Ladybug.

"Take care of her," Adrien commanded, his voice possessing a threatening undertone.

Master Fu nodded, and Adrien gently leaned down, placing a delicate kiss on Ladybug's cheek before getting up and walking out of the building with Plagg in tow and a new-found determination.

.

" _Marinette."_

Tikki's voice echoed in Ladybug's head. The young hero continued to wonder around in the black emptiness that was laid out before her in all directions. It was cold, extremely cold, and Ladybug shivered, her skin tight red suit unable to protect her. Where was Tikki? And how could she be transformed without her?

Ladybug panicked as her eyes darted around, looking this way and that in the hopes of locating her dear kwami. Her kwami that she had so recklessly and stubbornly put in danger. Why hadn't she listened to Tikki? Why did she have to transform? Ladybug more than trusted Chat Noir to look after things, so what on earth was she thinking?

Now Tikki was lost somewhere. Lost, alone, and in pain. And it was all her fault.

" _Marinette!"_

"Tikki!" Ladybug called out in return. "I'm here!"

" _Marinette!"_

"Where are you?!" Ladybug cried out with tears in her eyes.

No response.

Without a second thought, Ladybug took off running. She didn't look nor care in which direction, all that she knew was that she had to find and protect her kwami. Ladybug ran and ran and ran, but she didn't seem to get anywhere. All she saw before her was pure pitch blackness. Ladybug screamed out in frustration, tugging at her hair in panic, her breathing laboured. Where was she? Where was Tikki? What was going on? Those questions spun around Ladybug's head at a million miles per hour.

" _Ladybug!"_ called another voice.

Ladybug froze in panic before frowning.

That voice.

She knew that voice too.

" _Ladybug!"_

Ladybug took off running again, following the sound of the deep, familiar and comforting voice that was calling to her. It was Adrien. That was Adrien calling to her. She had to find him too. She had to know that he was safe in this awful place. Maybe Tikki was with him?

Ladybug soon skidded to a stop as, not Adrien, but Chat Noir stood before her.

He smiled at her, tilting his head to one side. "You came to me."

Ladybug nodded, not knowing what to say. She could've sworn that she had recognised his voice as Adrien's. Ladybug didn't make any move to walk closer to him, still cautious, afraid of what was going on.

Chat Noir frowned.

"Why do you toy with me Ladybug?" Chat asked innocently.

"Huh?"

"I thought you loved me, my lady."

"I do! I do love you!" Ladybug protested, finally taking those final steps towards him. She reached out to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head against his chest, listening to the steady and strong beat of his heart. The sound comforted her, and Ladybug smiled as she breathed in his intoxicating scent. That scent. Where had she smelled that delicious scent before?

Chat Noir's arms wrapped around her, pulling her tighter against him. He rested his head against the top of hers and sighed sadly.

"But do you love _me_ , Ladybug?"

Ladybug pulled back slightly in shock. "Of course I do!"

Once again, without her permission, her body reacted. Her hands moved up and gently grabbed hold of Chat Noir's cheeks, pulling him down to her level before crashing her lips against his in an effort to prove just how much she loved him.

"GAH!" Ladybug gasped, jolting awake.

Her whole body felt weak, but she could not bring herself to think about that as she placed her head in her hands at having had _another_ weird Chat Noir dream. When were these dreams going to stop?

"Ladybug, you're awake!"

Ladybug gasped again, looking back up to see Chat Noir sat on his knees next to her, his arms outstretched to her slightly, not knowing whether she'd appreciate a comforting hand being placed on her or not. Chat's eyes were wide, and he was watching her fearfully, as if at any second, she would disintegrate in front of his very eyes.

Ladybug then became fully aware of her surroundings. She appeared to be in Master Fu's place, though she did not know how she got there. The last thing she remembered was transforming into Ladybug in the girls' bathroom of her school. She was laid down on a comfy mat, a pillow laying where her head had just been, and a thin blanket had been placed over, though it now hung by her waist after she jolted upright from her slumber.

"What happened?" Ladybug croaked out, her voice cracking painfully as she realised just how dry her throat was.

Chat Noir gently pushed her back down, while Ladybug, not having much energy to stubbornly fight back, reluctantly followed her partner's silent order. Chat then grabbed something next to him and Ladybug felt her throat internally cry out desperately once she realised it was a large glass of water.

"Here," Chat Noir offered gently, placing his hand behind Ladybug's head to help her sit up slightly.

He placed the glass against Ladybug's lips. She cautiously took a sip before she lost all control and started gulping it down. The cold water felt wonderful on her throat, and Ladybug could feel some of her energy returning. No longer did she feel sick, just slightly weak and drained.

Chat Noir's eyes widened and he snatched the glass away from her lips in alarm.

"Whoa, take it easy there, LB." Chat Noir chuckled.

Ladybug flushed in embarrassment before Chat's face turned serious, almost angry.

"What were you thinking Ladybug?"

The young hero could tell that her partner was trying to remain calm, but his voice shook slightly, giving away his anger and betrayal.

"I-I didn't want to leave you to fight on your own," Ladybug lamely responded, panicking.

She had never seen Chat Noir angry before.

Chat Noir's eye twitched before he took a deep calming breath. "You almost got yourself killed."

"Yes, but I didn't." Ladybug pouted, beginning to feel like Chat was overreacting slightly.

Ladybug then suddenly gasped. "The akuma!"

She tried to sit up again, but Chat Noir forced her back down once again, glaring at her. Ladybug shrank back slightly, not used to seeing this side of her best friend. He was always joking around, never once had she seen him get angry, especially with her.

"Never mind that, I'm not finished," Chat snapped.

Ladybug glared at him, ready to scold him for putting a petty argument before protecting Paris, but Chat beat her to the punch.

"Why did you never tell me about Master Fu?" Chat demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow at her.

"I…what?"

"Master Fu," Chat Noir repeated slowly, "why did you never tell me about him?"

"I…I don't know…" Ladybug replied, biting her lip guiltily. "I guess I always just considered it need to know only. How did you find out anyway?"

"My kwami," he answered sharply before continuing, "and don't you think that I needed to know? I thought we were supposed to be partners, Ladybug? I would have thought that something as important as a miraculous guardian was something that I needed to know."

Ladybug was speechless.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Chat asked, hurt in his eyes. "The only reason I seem to have found out was because _you_ went and did something stupid and reckless, almost getting yourself killed and leaving me on my own. Do you think I could just continue on without you? Don't you realise how much I lo –" Chat froze before growling to himself, closing his eyes and pinching the top of his nose.

Ladybug felt tears in her eyes as Chat scolded her. The worst thing was that he was right. She was stupid to do what she did, and she was stupid to keep Master Fu a secret from him. He did have a right to know, and she had been thoughtless and careless. She had hurt her best friend. That thought pained her more than anything.

Unsure of what to do, Ladybug reached out to him, but Chat gently brushed her hand away. That stung, and Ladybug forced back the whimper that threatened to escape her mouth at Chat Noir's actions.

"I…I'm sorry…" Ladybug managed to croak out as she fought back tears.

"No…I am…I…I shouldn't have shouted." Chat Noir struggled for words as he refused to meet her eyes. "I guess I'm just…I need time to think. I'm glad you're okay."

He quickly got up and began hurrying out of the room before he paused, grabbing something off the table by the door and making his way back over to a frozen Ladybug. He placed the clear jar on the floor next to Ladybug, who had now sat up properly again, watching her partner with wide, fearful eyes, wishing with all her heart that she could make every better right this second.

Ladybug looked down at the jar and gasped at what was inside: a large, dark purple butterfly, fluttering around in a desperate attempt to escape.

"Here's the akuma you didn't trust me enough to catch on my own," Chat Noir choked out without looking at her.

He bolted out of the room without giving Ladybug a chance to respond.

A small sob escaped Ladybug's lips as she grabbed hold of the jar and held it in her lap. How could she have been so thoughtless? Hurting Chat Noir's feelings had never been her intention, but there was no denying that this was the consequence of her actions. She knew he felt like she didn't trust him. But that was never the case.

However, she knew that if she was in Chat's shoes, she would have felt the exact same way. She too would have felt betrayed, and she definitely would have shouted at him a lot more than what Chat had. After everything, he still tried to keep calm and didn't want to maliciously hurt her in return, even though it was no less than she deserved.

Her eyes were now opened to a new side of Chat Noir. She guessed it could be easy to forget that under all of those jokes, puns, and flirting, he was still a human being with feelings, and Ladybug had hurt them.

"He's just upset." A deep voice made her jump.

Ladybug calmed once she realised it was just Master Fu, before sniffing as tears began streaming down her face.

"It's all my fault."

"No." Master Fu kneeled down next to her. "I'm just as to blame. I should have searched for him after meeting with you, but I was just too paranoid about Hawkmoth finding out there was a guardian in the city."

"No," Ladybug responded, "this is my mess."

"Regardless," Master Fu sighed out, "you may want to find him and sort this out as soon as possible. There can never be imbalance between Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"I will." Ladybug shakily stood up, feeling miles better than she did that morning.

There were two people on her list that she needed to apologise to. She just needed to remain transformed long enough to find Chat Noir, and then she could get home, de-transform, and apologise to Tikki for not listening to her and potentially putting them both in very serious mortal danger.

No matter what, she would make things right again.

* * *

 **Angsty times are ahead. Let me know your thoughts. See you soon!**


	5. Balcony of Sorrows

**Thank you so much once again for your reviews, and for following this story and adding it to your favourites. It always really means a lot to me. Thank you for your support!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Balcony of Sorrows**

After her talk with Master Fu, Ladybug quickly purified the akuma and made her way outside. She was grateful that Master Fu had mentioned no more of what had happened, fearing that she would break down. It had been a long day, and although Ladybug wasn't one hundred percent sure of the time, the position of the sun led Ladybug to guess it was some time in the afternoon. Chat Noir had barely left ten minutes before, so the young hero was hopeful that she would be able to catch up to him and talk to him. She was desperate to apologise and make things right. The betrayed look in Chat's eyes was enough punishment to make Ladybug never do something like this again.

Swinging her yo-yo, Ladybug glided through the city, everything all calm now that Chat Noir had dealt with the akuma. She had to admit, the thought of having left Chat Noir to deal with it on her own made her uncomfortable, but it wasn't through lack of trust like Chat had accused her of. She was scared of him getting hurt or into trouble, and she wouldn't be there to help. She cared too much about Chat to be responsible for his demise, and all because she didn't do her duty properly. Ladybug couldn't help but be protective of him; she did deeply care for him after all.

The sun felt warm against her back as she carried on flying through the city, searching all of the places Chat was most likely to be. No luck. He had vanished. Most likely he returned to his civilian form. He had said he needed some time after all. Maybe Ladybug was wrong to go looking for him. Her presence might just upset him even more, and that thought sent a painful stab through Ladybug's heart.

He had fled from her. He wanted to be away from _her._

Gulping back tears, Ladybug decided it was probably best to head home. School had most likely finished, and her parents and Alya would no doubt start wondering where she was, even more so seen as she was supposed to be ill. With a sigh, Ladybug headed home, stopping a few streets away from her parents' bakery to transform back into Marinette in an ally.

Tikki looked as drained as Marinette felt as the young girl cradled her kwami in her hands.

"I'm so sorry Tikki," Marinette whispered, once again fighting back tears, "let me just get inside and I can give you some cookies and then you can shout and scream at me all you want."

Tikki rolled her eyes, but said nothing as Marinette gently placed her kwami into her little pink purse. Swinging her back-pack over her other shoulder, Marinette began walking towards her home, her blue eyes continued to scan the sky for any sign of Chat Noir.

Nothing.

Sighing, Marinette made her way inside where her parents were just finishing serving a customer.

"Oh, Marinette, sweetheart." Her mother sighed with relief, running over to her daughter and pulling her into a tight, loving embrace. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, mom," Marinette half lied.

Health wise, she did feel better, emotional wise though was another story.

"I would have thought you'd come home for lunch," Sabine stated in confusion.

"Oh, I umm, I had lunch with Alya," Marinette lied, "her mother made me some homemade chicken soup."

Sabine smiled. "That was lovely of her."

"Yeah."

"Why don't you head to bed Marinette?" Tom suggested. "You look exhausted, and we can bring your dinner up to your room if you want?"

Marinette smiled; the thought of her bed was very inviting. "Thanks papa, but I'm not really that hungry. I just want to sleep."

"We understand." Sabine gave her daughter a reassuring smile before kissing her on the cheek.

"Night mom, night dad." Marinette smiled weakly before heading upstairs into their apartment. She then climbed the stairs up to her bedroom and gently closed the hatch behind her. She opened her purse and Tikki came flying out, a frown on her face.

Marinette couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Marinette sobbed, collapsing to her knees on the floor and crying into her hands. "I know I should've listened to you, I put us both in serious danger, I'm so sorry Tikki."

Tikki's face relaxed and she sighed at the emotionally distraught girl in front of her. Marinette felt Tikki stroke her face before she looked up to see her kwami smiling gently and sadly at her. Another sob escaped the young girl as she wiped her eyes as best she could, but it was all in vain as the tears kept pouring from her eyes like two great waterfalls. It was all too much, and Marinette was struggling to keep it together. What she had done to Tikki, what she had done to Chat, what she had nearly done to Paris. Marinette had never been so stupid nor did she want to make such a stupid mistake again.

"Marinette," Tikki crooned, trying her best to pull Marinette out from behind her hands, "what you did was very very very stupid, but I know that you've learnt your lesson."

"Can you ever forgive me, Tikki?" Marinette whimpered, looking like a lost little girl.

"Of course I can, Marinette." Tikki smiled before frowning again. "Though you might have to work harder in order to achieve Chat's forgiveness."

Marinette sniffed, her head now starting to pound from having cried so hard. Tikki was right. If she was Chat, she wouldn't forgive her actions so quickly. Marinette fought back the urge to go out and find him again. Mentally slapping herself, she remembered that Chat likely didn't want to be found right now. He wanted time to think so Marinette would oblige. As much as it pained her, she knew she had to stay away for now and let Chat come to her when he was ready. No doubt he would want answers eventually, and this time, Marinette would be more than willing to give them to him, along with thousands of apologies and promises that she would never do anything like that to him again.

"Marinette?"

Tikki's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Mmm?"

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about," Tikki said sheepishly.

This confused Marinette. "What is it?"

It took a while for Tikki for respond, and Marinette waited as patiently as she could, despite wanting to beg the answer out of her kwami, her curiosity and worry eating away at her.

"I saw your dream."

It took a few seconds for Marinette to process what Tikki had just said. However as soon as it sunk in, Marinette flushed the deepest red possible. Squealing, Marinette covered her face with her hands once again, her breath hitching, and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she wished the ground could just swallow her up right that very second.

She couldn't believe Tikki had seen that! She was so embarrassed and humiliated. No doubt Tikki would tease her or scold her, and Marinette couldn't take much more. How had Tikki seen this? Marinette took a deep breath. Maybe Tikki hadn't seen the whole thing.

"H-how much did you see?" Marinette squeaked.

Tikki looked away awkwardly. "All of it," the small red kwami mumbled.

Marinette squealed again, balling her hands into fists against her face, blushing even more furiously. Her face had never felt so hot, and she had to desperately resist the urge to run out of the room. It would be pointless anyway as Tikki would highly likely not let this topic go.

Was there a reason her kwami had brought this up? Tikki didn't seem to be teasing her so far so where exactly was she going with this?

"When you're transformed, I see everything you see, and that means when you were passed out, I could see your dreams," Tikki explained before her deep blue eyes returned to Marinette's beet red face. "Is this why you've been acting so strange lately? You keep having dreams about Chat Noir?"

Marinette gulped and nodded, still refusing to leave her hiding place.

"Awww, Marinette," Tikki gently cooed, "why didn't you say something?"

Marinette pulled her fists down so that only her eyes were visible, finally looking back at her kwami. "Because it's embarrassing."

Tikki giggled. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's perfectly normal. You are sixteen after all, and when a human girl reaches a certain age –"

"Whoa whoa whoa, okay, I'm gonna have to stop you right there!" Marinette exclaimed, placing her index finger over Tikki's mouth.

Tikki knocked Marinette's finger away from her face in frustration. "You can't keep running, hiding and stubbornly ignoring things Marinette. Sooner or later, you have to face the music."

Marinette growled to herself, saying nothing.

The little red kwami took that as a sign to continue. "And you being attracted to Chat Noir is perfectly normal."

"WHAT?!" Marinette shrieked.

"Ssssh," Tikki reminded her that she wasn't alone in the apartment before continuing, "you and Chat Noir are two halves of the same whole, so it's only natural that you would be attracted to him and maybe even have dreams like that about him; subconsciously reaching out to him. You'll always be drawn to each other like magnets as the laws of nature and the universe command. Destruction and creation always together, hand in hand. Like it or not, the chosen Ladybug and Chat Noir are always soulmates. They have to be. It's what helps maintain the balance of nature – yin and yang."

"But I'm not in love with Chat Noir, I love Adrien!" Marinette glared out of her window at the darkening sky, refusing to meet Tikki's gaze again, not liking the bombshell that was suddenly being dropped on her.

She wished Tikki had just kept her mouth shut, but obviously this was something the kwami felt like had to be talked about. Tikki didn't reveal things very often, and only did so when she deemed it important or necessary or when the truth could no longer be feasibly hidden.

Tikki sighed. "It's not necessarily like that Marinette. You're jumping to conclusions before I've even had the chance to explain."

Marinette huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, her face still a brilliant shade of red.

"Just because you're soulmates, it doesn't necessarily imply you'll inevitably be in a romantic relationship with him, Marinette," Tikki explained.

"What?"

"Soulmates doesn't always mean you're gonna fall deeply and romantically in love. Chosen Ladybugs and Chat Noirs always love each other, even if they become bitter enemies, and boy do things get imbalanced when that happens." Tikki shuddered before shaking her head. "But I digress. Chosen Chat Noirs and Ladybugs can be lovers, get married and start families, but many also remain just close friends, marrying other people or stay single. The point is, Marinette, that everybody is different and unique. We all choose our own paths in life, and despite your attraction to Chat Noir, which is inevitable, it does not mean you have to chose him as a mate. You decide your own destiny, Marinette."

Marinette sat there in silence for a while, her face gradually returning back to its normal, pale colour. Tikki's words still freaked her out, but she felt a little better knowing that she wasn't pre-destined to throw herself into Chat Noir's arms one day against her will, declaring her undying love for him. She had a choice in this. Chat Noir was her – Marinette gulped – soulmate, but as Tikki had explained, that could imply anything.

This latest information made her feel weird. Once again, she was forced to see Chat Noir in a new light. The person who was, universally speaking, perfect for her. Her fated. Marinette shook her head at the thought. A fated best friend. That thought made Ladybug relax once more.

Running her hands over her face, Marinette let out a deep breath she didn't realise she had been holding. She turned back towards Tikki with a small smile. Her face was stained with tears, but at least they were no longer falling freely from her eyes.

"That's why I'm sure everything will be alright in the end," Tikki reassured her holder. "You're a good person, Marinette, and you'll make things right with Chat Noir. And he's a good person too, so I know that one day he'll be willing to listen. He just needs some time, I'm sure."

Marinette's mind then wondered back to Master Fu's words of warning.

"But what about what Master Fu said? He told me to be quick."

Tikki held her little arm up to stop Marinette before she began a panicked ramble.

"Don't worry too much about what Master Fu said," Tikki explained. "In a sense, he's right, this does need fixing quickly. But if you rush into this without careful thought and reflection, you could risk making the problem worse than it is already, and that would create a far worse outcome."

Marinette smiled a true happy smile for the first time all day. The young girl reached out and gently stroked her kwami's head, and Tikki giggled, grabbing onto Marinette's finger affectionately.

"What would I do without you Tikki?" Marinette beamed before her eyes narrowed curiously. "I'm guessing there's lots of other things you aren't telling me?"

Tikki let out another giggle. "Oh, lots of things."

"I'm also going to guess that you're not going to tell me?"

The red kwami grinned sheepishly. "All in good time, Marinette, all in good time."

.

Adrien had been tossing and turning in his large bed for some time now. The blond model let out the third sigh this minute, his eyes gravitating to stare at the silver ring that rested permanently on his finger since he had gotten it all that time ago. Had Ladybug known about Master Fu right from the very start? What else was she hiding that he was so blissfully unaware of?

This whole time, he must have looked like a complete idiot to her. He felt almost as if he had been treated like a child. Like he was too stupid to handle this information, or handle an akuma on his own while Ladybug safely recovered from an illness.

Surely, it would have been simple enough for Ladybug to just leave a message on his baton that she wasn't well enough to fight? He would've understood. He could've handled the akuma and agreed to drop it off at a location Ladybug could easily get to in order to purify it. Then again, his lady never did simple and easy. It was one of her many annoying yet irresistible qualities.

Growling to himself, Adrien shook his head. He was supposed to be mad at her, not start fantasising about her. Adrien closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth. He had never felt so betrayed. The girl he loved more than anything didn't trust and respect him enough to regale him with very important information relating to their powers. That thought pierced through his heart.

Adrien was used to pain, to sorrow, to being continuously let down, however he never thought Ladybug would join in on that trend that plagued his existence.

The vision of Ladybug's body lying so incredibly still on top of that car flashed into his head, causing Adrien to whimper and place his pillow over his head in the hopes of blocking it out. He had nearly lost her today, and he was busy wallowing in self-pity when he should be grateful that Ladybug was alive. He should never have brought this up. He was pathetic. He was ungrateful.

But…again Adrien couldn't help but feel hurt. He had every right to. Ladybug clearly displayed that she knew she had done wrong. Adrien cringed at the memory of the pain on Ladybug's face when he had swatted her hand away.

She did care.

Deep down, he knew Ladybug would never do anything towards him out of malice. Yet for some reason, that didn't ease the pain or the betrayal he felt. He knew he would go running back to her like a lap-dog…cat? He always did, he thought to himself with a huff. However, right now, Adrien needed to collect his thoughts, and he could never do that with Ladybug around. He always got drunk on her very presence. She was a fine wine he could never resist. It was best like this for now.

Plus, it wasn't like Ladybug would worry too much about him. As much as it pained him, he knew that her feelings for him did not run as deep as his did for her. Maybe that was part of the problem. Did he expect too much from her? Ladybug was a superhero who took her job seriously. In reality, Adrien didn't know her, not really. Who was he to demand Ladybug tell him secrets she had every right to keep?

This was a secret he felt like involved him though. That's what rubbed him the wrong way. As a holder of a miraculous, did he not have the right to know about the guardian? The very reason it seems, he was chosen as Chat Noir in the first place?

Adrien let out another sigh, and this time, Plagg had had enough.

"I swear kid, if you sigh one more time!" Plagg threatened with a growl before turning over and trying to get back to sleep.

Adrien looked up at the tired kwami resting further up on his pillow.

"Plagg?"

Plagg didn't respond, instead letting out exaggerated snores, pretending to be asleep. Adrien rolled his eyes, ignoring the more than obvious hint that his kwami wanted to be left alone.

"Why didn't you tell me about Master Fu?" Adrien asked.

Plagg groaned, turning back over to glare at Adrien with his bright green, cat-like eyes. "I was sworn to secrecy until the time was right or things became desperate, and well, things became desperate."

"But why?"

Plagg rolled his eyes. "The old guy has been pretty paranoid since…well, since what happened in Tibet."

"What happened in Tibet?"

"I've already said too much. That's Master Fu's story, not mine. But what I will tell you, as you already know, is that not all miraculous wielders use their powers for good. Some find the miraculous and abuse its power, like Hawkmoth. However, sometimes a chosen miraculous user can, well, become corrupted. When they're chosen, everything is fine at first, but through various foreseen or unforeseen events and circumstances, they become bad and then use the miraculous for evil or their own selfish means."

Adrien blinked. "And Master Fu did this?"

Plagg shook his head. "I wasn't there when it happened. I was still asleep. I just know that Master Fu made a terrible mistake and it haunts him to this very day."

Adrien couldn't help but think back to what Plagg had introduced Master Fu as: the last guardian.

"Is that why Master Fu is the only guardian left?"

It took a while for Plagg to respond, but eventually the small black cat kwami slowly nodded his head.

"When I'm asleep and lay dormant, I hear things sometimes. I couldn't pick out anything coherent though. All I remember was hearing these awful yells of a terrifying woman. I can only guess that was the moment Master Fu fled with the surviving miraculous in his possession. When the temple was destroyed." Plagg shuddered.

"I wonder who she was."

"Beats me." Plagg shrugged. "But that's all I know, and don't go bugging Master Fu with it."

"I won't," Adrien reassured.

"But that's why Master Fu is paranoid. He doesn't want to give a miraculous and his information out to just anyone in order to avoid what happened to him before. Really, he's just doing his job: guarding the miraculous, their powers and their secrets."

"Do you think that's what Ladybug was doing?"

Plagg shrugged again. "I can't speak for Ladybug as I don't really know the girl. But to be honest, she doesn't strike me as the type to purposefully hurt you by doing something like this, or that it was something to do with a lack of trust. I get the impression she's just a bit gormless sometimes."

That revelation shocked Adrien. "Ladybug? Gormless?"

"She's certainly clumsy enough in her civilian form," Plagg muttered to himself, curling back up on Adrien's pillow.

"What was that, Plagg?"

"Oh, nothing."

Adrien hummed to himself, deep in thought as he turned to stare out of his window. He couldn't just lay there tossing and turning all night. He needed some fresh air. It was late enough that hopefully he wouldn't bump into Ladybug, so he could hopefully have some space to think.

"Let's go for a walk Plagg." Adrien sat up, fist clenched and ready to transform.

"Let's _not_ ," Plagg retorted, curling into a tighter ball on Adrien's pillow, pretending to snore again.

But Adrien ignored him. "Plagg, claws out!"

"Hey, wait!" Plagg begged as he began to be sucked into the ring. "This is kwami abbussssee!"

.

Marinette had been tossing and turning for the past few hours. She was completely exhausted, but for some reason, she just could not get to sleep. Tikki was fast asleep on the pillow next to her, and she couldn't help but scowl at her kwami in jealousy. Then again, thinking about it, did Marinette want to go to sleep where she could potentially have more weird and awkward dreams about Chat Noir?

Tossing towards her other side again, Marinette huffed to herself, before deciding she might as well get some fresh air. Maybe that would help her relax and get some decent sleep.

Gently and quietly so as not to wake Tikki, Marinette crept towards the hatch that led to her rooftop balcony. She unlocked the door as quietly as she could before climbing out and carefully closing the door behind her. Marinette then sighed as she stood up and walked towards the metal railing before leaning against it. Not even the sight of the whole of Paris spread out before her could cheer her up this time. Because she knew that somewhere in the beautiful city before her, Chat Noir was hurt because of her.

That thought was enough to push Marinette over the edge again, and before she could stop herself, she was crying again.

"What's a beautiful _puurrincess_ doing out crying at this time of night?"

That voice! Marinette jumped, barely managing to keep in her scream as she quickly placed a hand over her mouth as her whole body twisted involuntary around towards the source of the voice. Chat Noir was sat on the roof above her in his typical cat like sitting position, looking down at her with a concerned frown on his face.

"Chat Noir?" Marinette questioned, internally damning the fact that she was not Ladybug right now so she could apologise to him profusely.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He chuckled nervously before jumping down and landing in front of her, his face curious. "What are you doing here?"

He gently caught one of Marinette's stray tears with his finger and wiped it away, her skin tingling at his touch. She was so glad that he seemed okay.

"I live here," she answered, slightly confused.

"Oh." Chat looked taken aback. "That's right, I forgot. Sorry, I just somehow ended up here without really thinking. I've been sat on your roof for a while. I was about to leave when I saw you come out, and I couldn't exactly ignore you when you started crying."

"I see." Marinette giggled nervously. "Well, I'm fine."

Chat frowned again. "You're a terrible liar, Marinette."

Marinette shrugged, turning to look out over the railing again. Chat joined her, standing next to her and also leaning against the metal bars, his eyes watching her curiously.

"Just had a long day."

Chat sighed. "Same here."

They stood together in comfortable silence for a few moments before they both tried to speak at the same time.

"So what's bugging –"

"So what's bugging –"

They both laughed.

"You first," Marinette insisted.

Chat Noir let out one last chuckled before his face turned serious again. "I don't think you'd understand."

Marinette smiled softly, turning around to sit on one of the chairs available. She patted the one next to her, and Chat Noir took the hint and sat down, shooting her a small grateful smile.

"Even so," Marinette said, "it might still help to get it off your chest. I'm a good listener."

"Well," Chat began, "in a nutshell I got into a small fight with Ladybug."

Marinette feigned shock, all the while trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to betray her identity.

"But I thought you and Ladybug were a close-knit team?"

"We were. We are," Chat quickly corrected, "she just…she kept a secret from me. A very important secret, and it made me feel like she can't trust me, or that she doesn't see me as an equal."

"Of course she does!" Marinette cried out, standing up and throwing her arms out in shock.

Chat Noir stared up at her in alarm at her sudden, seemingly unjustified outburst. Marinette blushed while mentally scolding herself; she wasn't Ladybug right now. She had to play it cool. Nervously, she sat back down while Chat remained frozen, looking at her as if she had just grown an extra head.

"I mean…surely Ladybug didn't mean any harm?" Marinette tried to save herself. "Yeah what she did was horrible, and I can understand why you feel the way you do, but…have you tried to get a proper explanation out of her?"

"She said she thought it was a need to know only secret." Chat glared straight ahead. "But it was a secret that I think I needed to know."

"Why don't you try talking to Ladybug about it again?" Marinette asked cautiously.

Chat sighed. "Honestly, I'm too angry with her right now to talk to her."

Marinette closed her eyes, looking down in shame. Her heart stopped in her chest before painfully restarting.

"She deserves it." Marinette mumbled.

"No." Chat Noir ran his hands through his scruffy blond hair. "I was probably too hasty when I ran away from her. I just needed space to think."

"That's understandable." Marinette twiddled her thumbs as she tried to swallow the painful lump that had formed in her throat.

She was trying her hardest to act natural, when in reality, all she wanted to do was grab Chat and hug him close, to apologise until she was blue in the face, and promise to never let Chat down again. The urge was unbearable, so Marinette clamped her hands together in an effort to stop her arms from wrapping around his tall form sat next to her against her will. She couldn't give even the slightest hint she was Ladybug.

That's when she remembered her graze.

Marinette let out a loud gasp before she quickly pulled her hair ties out and pulled her dark hair in front of her face to cover the graze up. It seemed to be pure dumb luck that Chat hadn't spotted it. Or if he had, he hadn't put two and two together.

Chat Noir once again turned to stare at her with wide eyes.

"Are you alright?" Chat asked worriedly, looking slightly freaked out.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Marinette answered a little too quickly, "it's just my hair ties were starting to pull on my scalp too much, so I decided to take them out. Ahhh, that's better." Marinette flicked her dark hair for added effect while Chat Noir just stared at her.

He then smiled as he took a small strand between his finger and thumb and twirled it slightly. Marinette gulped, and her cheeks turned a light shade of red as even the close proximity of his hand to her cheek gave her skin a pleasurable electric shock.

"I've never seen your hair down before," he commented.

All Marinette could do was laugh nervously in reply.

"It looks nice." He looked back up at her and smiled.

"Thanks." Her blush deepened slightly. She quickly looked away from his hypnotic green eyes and back to the view of the city in front of them.

"Now it's your turn," Chat Noir announced.

"My turn for what?"

"To tell me what made you cry?" Chat asked softly, leaning forward slightly in concern. He rested his elbows on his knees and cupped his hands together, gazing at her intently. "If someone hurt you, I can go hunt them down for you?"

Marinette giggled before letting out a sigh. "No one hurt me, it's something _I've_ done."

Chat Noir's eyes widened. "I find that hard to believe."

"I'm no saint, Chat." Marinette frowned bringing her knees up to her chest before resting her chin on them. "I'm in love with this boy."

"Oooh do tell." Chat Noir smirked, leaning closer.

"I can't." Marinette sighed. "But the thing is…I love this boy, but I keep having dreams about another boy I know, but I can't be in love with two people."

"I see," Chat murmured, looking down at his hands.

"I mean what kind of selfish, greedy person could be in love with two people at the same time?" Marinette exclaimed.

Chat Noir remained unusually quiet.

Finally, he spoke up.

"And do you love this other guy? The one you keep dreaming about?"

"No!" Marinette yelled in denial. "I mean, as a friend, yes."

Chat looked at her suspiciously. "You're not doing a very good job of convincing me, Marinette."

"But it's true!" Marinette protested, her blue eyes focused desperately on Chat Noir, begging for him to believe her. Marinette couldn't help but feel guilty that she was talking about Chat Noir _to Chat Noir._

"Then a…friend of mine was little help when she told me this kind of thing is normal."

"And isn't it?"

"No!" Marinette cried out hopelessly.

"Do these guys know you're in love with them?" Chat asked.

Marinette glared at him. "It's just the one guy I'm in love with, and are you insane? Of course he doesn't know?"

The black cat superhero couldn't help but shake his head incredulously. "Don't you think you should tell this guy you like him?"

"Are you kidding?" Marinette squeaked. "No! But every time I try to get close to him to maybe one day try and tell him how I feel, something else always gets in the way, or I mess up and make a complete fool of myself. I'm so clumsy and pathetic, and he could probably never love me back."

Chat Noir smiled. "I find that hard to believe. You're amazing, Marinette."

Marinette gasped at the compliment, and Chat Noir blushed slightly.

"It's true though," he insisted, "what guy wouldn't fall for you?"

Marinette smiled. "You're sweet, Chat Noir."

"Hey, I don't _sugar_ coat the truth."

Marinette giggled, for once unable to bring herself to facepalm at his terrible puns. She would put up with his bad puns for eternity if it meant that he was happy after all the pain she had caused him. After their little chat tonight, Marinette was even more determined to make things right. Chat deserved to know the truth, and she would never hide anything from him again…well…except her identity of course.

"But hey," Chat interrupted her thoughts, "let's not talk about our problems again tonight."

Marinette smiled and nodded in agreement.

The young heroes weren't sure long they stayed awake in each other's company. For goodness knows how many hours, the pair spent their time stargazing, both pointing out any constellations that they recognised. In the end, they began making up their own, laughing at the backstories that each of them created for them.

Before long, Marinette began dozing, and she soon fell asleep against Chat Noir's shoulder. For once, she barely dreamed that night, only retaining faint memories of a gentle voice singing softly to her, and a hand stroking her cheek before she finally drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **Holy cow, this chapter was long. It's now 1am and I've gone all loopy, and I think my eyes are now permanently damaged…well more damaged than what they already are. Hope you enjoyed that little Marichat I sneaked in there. Feel free to let me know your thoughts. See you soon.**


	6. Two Left Feet

**Welcome back! Thank you so much for all the reviews, favourites and follows. It's what inspires me to keep going.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Two Left Feet**

The hotel corridor was long and narrow, with a carpet of an ugly dark blue with neon green swirls that seemed to have faded slightly over time. The walls were a faded yellow, and the windows looking out onto the city below were smudged around the edges. Upon squinting through the old, barely cleaned glass, the London Eye and Elizabeth Tower could just about be made out in the distance. The dark water of the River Thames could also be seen sloshing against the side of the hotel below with the occasional boat sailing by.

Waiting for the elevator was a man dressed in all black, slightly dishevelled from a day of travelling and little sleep, but otherwise his appearance remained immaculate. He clutched his black bowler hat in his hand impatiently, brushing away a stray black hair that had managed to wriggle its way free from his pony tail out of his face.

The elevator finally dinged, opening with a flood of people disembarking. A few people stared at his strange intimidating appearance, muttering something in English that he did not understand, nor care enough to wonder. The man picked up his black briefcase and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor. He watched the numbers with narrowed eyes, tapping his foot as he awaited to reach his destination with bated breath.

G…1…2…3…4…5…6…

Finally, the elevator stopped and opened on the top floor leading to the pent house suite. This floor was more well kept than the others. The ugly carpet remained, though this one retained more colour, and the double doors that led into the room were pearly white. The man stepped out and removed one black leather glove before knocking on the door gently with his finger.

"Who is it?" A female voice called from the other side.

"It's me, Madame," the man in black answered.

"Enter."

Pressing down on the door handle, the man entered cautiously, looking around the room. It was decent enough for a pent house suite, but not the level of sophistication that he knew his boss would enjoy. The room was spacious with little furniture. A beige leather couch faced the large wide screen TV above the fireplace, with a cream rug in front and glass table on top. Situated by the large window overlooking the city of London was a large wooden desk.

Sat in the black leather chair, facing away from him and looking out into the city, was a petite woman with her thick blonde hair styled in a wavy bob cut that almost reached her shoulders. The man froze upon the sight of his boss and cleared his throat before holding his briefcase higher up with both hands. He moved towards her desk and placed it down before fiddling with the combination and opening it up. Inside were various papers and photographs.

The woman in the chair finally turned around and regarded him with a guarded neutral expression.

"Are you sure it's her?" she asked in a calm voice.

The man merely grinned, a dark glint in his eye. "See for yourself."

The woman picked up the papers and regarded them carefully.

"I've been watching her for some time now. I've managed to gather as much evidence as possible."

"Very good, Leon," the woman praised, reading the documents carefully. "So, her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

Leon nodded. "She lives in Paris, Madame, with a Thomas Dupain and his wife Sabine Cheng. They own a bakery there. Marinette also attends the school across the road: Collège Françoise Dupont."

"Cheng." The woman's voice turned steely, yet her expression remained the same. Her fingers tightened slightly on the paper she held.

"And there's more Madame." Leon's grin became even wider as he handed his boss a photo.

The woman gently took the photo and gasped. There was Marinette, mid-transformation into Ladybug in a dark alleyway. The photo was taken from behind, but the evidence was clear.

A smile began to tug at the corner of the woman's lips. "That crazy old lady was right."

"It would seem that both the ladybug and the cat miraculous have been activated. They have been battling a villain who refers to himself as Hawkmoth, and it would appear he is in possession of the butterfly brooch."

"No! It can't be…" The woman slammed her hand down on the desk, making Leon jump, before she abruptly stood up and stormed towards the window, the photo clutched tightly in her hand.

Leon's dark eyes widened slightly as it appeared his boss seemed to be trembling slightly. She was muttering something to herself, and Leon strained his ears to listen, but could not pick up anything coherent. As suddenly as it started, her shaking and muttering stopped, and her body became stiff and controlled once again.

"I think it's time I took back what's mine," the woman said with an almost deranged hint of excitement. "Leon?"

"Yes, Madame?"

"Arrange my immediate return to Paris."

.

"Oh, Tikki, I can't believe I slept through my alarm!" Marinette shrieked as she rushed around her room trying to get ready as quickly as possible. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Tikki sighed. "I tried to Marinette. That's what you get for staying awake with Chat Noir all night."

Marinette blushed and bit her lip as she searched frantically around for her school books before quickly shoving them into her pink backpack.

"And it's a good job your laughter woke me up in the night, otherwise Chat Noir would have seen me when he put you to bed. You've got to be more careful, Marinette!" Tikki scolded, her little red face filled with worry and concern for her holder.

Marinette froze. "Chat put me to bed?"

Her face immediately erupted into a lava field of embarrassment, flushing as red as her ladybug suit as she began trembling slightly at the thought. Marinette had found it strange that she woke up in bed when the last thing she remembered was talking and laughing with Chat Noir as they gazed at the stars together, but she had just assumed that she was too tired to remember making her way to bed.

The thought of Chat Noir carrying her to bed made her shiver, and her stomach tied itself into tight knots as her heart began doing somersaults in her chest. Marinette was beyond embarrassed, but she couldn't help but also feel slightly touched. She never truly appreciated how truly sweet and caring Chat Noir could be.

Feeling herself beginning to melt slightly into a dreamy state, Marinette gasped and pulled at her hair to snap herself out of it. What on earth was going on with her? Chat was just being a good friend and he was just that. _A friend! Nothing more!_ Marinette growled to herself; she really needed to snap out of this state she seemed to have gotten herself in over Chat.

Shaking her head, Marinette quickly covered her graze – which was now thankfully starting to scab over – with makeup before swinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Quickly Tikki," Marinette urged, "we're gonna be late."

Tikki quickly flew into Marinette's bag out of sight as the young girl all but jumped from the hatch of her bedroom down to the room below, startling her mother slightly. Marinette knew her mother wouldn't be happy with her skipping breakfast, but it was either that or arrive at school on time. Her teachers were already frustrated enough with her tardiness, and she didn't want to end up being punished again, or grounded by her parents.

"Bye mom, love you!" Marinette called out as she ran out of the door.

Luckily her father was busy with a customer, so they both briefly smiled and waved at each other as Marinette dashed out onto the street. Sprinting as fast she could, Marinette made it just in time for the bell to ring. Out of breath, she made her way to Miss Bustier's class. Alya was already sat waiting with a huge smile on her face and phone clutched tightly in her hand. When she saw Marinette, she enthusiastically waved her best friend over.

"Girl, you are never going to believe this!" Alya squealed excitedly.

"What?"

"Remember the akuma attack yesterday?"

"Yeah?"

"I help Chat Noir save the day!"

Marinette gasped, falling backwards slightly before Alya grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her down into her seat. She began furiously typing away on her phone before all but shoving it into Marinette's face. Marinette pushed the phone back slightly so she could see properly and almost choked when she saw video footage of herself passed out on top of a car on the Ladyblog.

She watched as Chat Noir shielded her from the akuma attack, and Alya run away to distract the giant monster while Chat got her to safety. The guilt then increased ten-fold. Her actions had placed Alya in danger. Chat Noir had had to rely on Alya in order for him to get her out of harm's way. Marinette couldn't bear it, and she looked away from the footage while fighting back tears.

"I know, it's pretty upsetting seeing Ladybug like that," Alya comforted her friend, misinterpreting her emotions. "I hope she's okay, Chat Noir said she hopefully would be when he left after he defeated the akuma. You should have seen him take that thing down! It was amazing!"

Marinette pressed her lips together and clenched her fists under her desk before speaking. "But why did you throw yourself into the danger Alya? You could've gotten yourself killed." Marinette's voice shook with intense worry.

"I had to Mari, it was the only way to save Ladybug."

"You should've just left her there," Marinette couldn't help but snap, before whispering low enough to keep Alya from hearing, "Ladybug would've deserved it."

"Girl, how could you say such a thing?" Alya gasped. "Ladybug saves and helps us every day, so when an opportunity comes to give back and help her in return, then that's what I'll do without question."

Marinette was touched slightly at Alya's sweet, yet naïve statement. She remained quiet, not wanting to argue further for fear of Alya picking up on her odd behaviour.

"So, are you feeling better today?" Alya asked changing the subject. "You still look a little on the exhausted side."

"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep last night."

Their conversation was interrupted by Adrien bursting into the room. He too had bags under his eyes and was panting slightly as he dashed into the classroom. His cheeks were flushed slightly as he took his seat next to Nino, giving his friend a smile. Nino shot him a puzzled look before smiling back.

"What happened to you, dude?" Nino asked, chuckling slightly. "You look like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep."

Alya laughed. "Hey, maybe he can join Marinette's tired club. She didn't get much sleep either."

Adrien laughed before looking up and smiling at Marinette. Marinette gulped and blushed, offering Adrien and small awkward wave.

"Maybe we could." Adrien laughed again before the class was silenced as Miss Bustier took the register.

Once that was finished, Miss Bustier cleared her throat for an announcement. "Now remember class that you have no morning lessons today. Once the bell rings, you are to make your way to the courtyard."

Some of the kids in the class groaned, and Marinette tapped Alya on the shoulder.

"What's this about?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you weren't hear yesterday afternoon." Alya smirked before rolling her eyes. "We have this special dance teacher coming into school today to teach us ballroom dances."

"What? Why?" Marinette gasped nervously.

Alya shrugged. "Something to do with getting students involved in more creative activities. I think it's some sort of taster session for a club this teacher wants to start in school or something."

"Oh, great," Marinette muttered as she buried her head in her arms on the desk.

"But Marinette, this is the perfect opportunity to dance with Adrien again," Alya whispered in her ear, and Marinette's head immediately shot up.

"Do you really think so?"

Alya smiled and nodded. "You better get in there and ask him."

"But what if I make a complete fool of myself?! What if I trip or stand on his foot or –"

"You'll be fine," Alya interrupted her friend as the bell rang.

Everyone in class sighed as they began making their way towards the courtyard. Marinette tried to quickly get up and catch up with Adrien, but was unable to squeeze past a lot of her classmates. Growing increasingly frustrated, Marinette finally managed to squeeze past Ivan who shot her a confused look. Marinette smiled awkwardly and waved him off. She could just about see Adrien's blond hair at the front of the crowd and she smiled determinedly.

The class came to a stop, talking amongst themselves as they waited for the dance lessons to start. People were already picking partners. Alya had managed to scoot her way over to Nino. Catching her eye, Alya gave her best friend a wink and thumbs up before motioning her to hurry up towards Adrien. Marinette nodded and gave her a thumbs up back, ducking and diving through her friends towards the love of her life.

Adrien was stood at the front, waiting patiently before he jumped slightly when Marinette timidly tapped his arm.

"Oh, hey tired buddy." He laughed. "What's up?"

"O-oh h-hey Adrien," Marinette stuttered. _Oh no._ "F-fancy seeing you here?"

Marinette then gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth as Adrien raised a confused eyebrow at her.

"I-I mean…! Ummm…" Marinette then began tangling and untangling her fingers nervously, her blue eyes darted around erratically as Adrien's expression grew increasingly confused and concerned.

"It's a l-lovely d-day, huh? J-just makes you want to dance?"

"Are you alright Marinette?" Adrien asked, worried.

"Me?" Marinette laughed nervously. "I-I'm great! S-so wondering I was want, you do dance?"

"Errr…yeah…I do know how to dance," Adrien responded looking more and more confused.

Marinette mentally face palmed. _Come on Marinette! You can do this!_ She could feel her cheeks getting hot, and Marinette quickly covered them with her hands to hide her blush.

"That's great!" Marinette managed to save herself without stuttering. "W-which is w-why I was wondering –"

"Ugh, take your babbling somewhere else and move!" A snooty voice appeared behind Marinette, and she suddenly felt herself being violent pushed out of the way. Alya managed to catch her friend in time before her head hit the concrete, and both of them glared daggers at Chloé's back.

"Adrikins!" Chloé squealed. "We're obviously going to be dance partners, right? We'll show these losers how it's done."

Adrien leaned away awkwardly, and Marinette sighed in defeat.

"I blew it."

"Aw Mari, don't worry, just dance like you've never danced before and I'm sure Adrien will notice you," Alya reassured.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "That might work if I was a good dancer."

Alya smiled. "You are, girl, you just need to be confident. Don't think too much and just let the music take you away."

Marinette smiled back, hoping to take Alya's advice on board.

"Hey, Marinette?" a shy, low voice asked behind her.

Marinette turned around to see Nathaniel standing behind her. His orange bangs covered his turquoise eyes as he bit his lip shyly.

"I was wondering if you wanted to be my partner?"

Marinette looked at Alya for guidance who nodded. The young girl then smiled at Nathaniel.

"Sure, Nath."

Nathaniel finally looked up and beamed at her, and they both stood next to each other as the female teacher who had just walked in clapped her hands to silence everyone and get their attention. She was a tall, thin woman with sharp features. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and she was wearing a velvet dark red leotard with black leggings and dancing shoes. She regarded the class with a firm eye, pursing her ruby red lips slightly as she took in everyone's appearance and stance.

"Morning class, I am Mariana," she introduced herself loudly in a thick Spanish accent. "I will be your dance teacher this morning. As you may have already been told, I am hoping to start after school classes here for anyone interested, so this is just a taster session to hopefully garner interest."

Mariana paced in front of them as if she was a military commander. Her posture was perfect, and her feet were graceful as she moved across the ground, as if all of her movements were perfectly rehearsed. Marinette payed close attention, hoping to imitate these movements and impress Adrien. If she could be poised and graceful like that, then maybe she could capture his interest. So far, her clumsiness had gotten her nowhere apart from many moments of embarrassment, just like a few minutes before when she had failed to ask him to be her partner.

"For this taster session, I will be teaching you the Argentine tango."

Marinette could hear a few people, most likely Alix, Kim and Ivan, groan. Marinette could feel her nerves bubbling up once again. She had never done any proper ballroom dancing before. Before she had even started dancing, Marinette began to feel like this would be a disaster. Once again, she would embarrass herself in front of Adrien, and he would forever think she was some sort of freak.

"Now, this is a difficult dance to master, "Mariana continued, "but I chose this one for the taster session to show the kind of skills I expect you to learn. I expect nothing but the best."

Marinette gulped.

"Now does everybody have partners?"

The class nodded.

"Very good." Mariana's smile was slightly stiff. "Música," she virtually ordered Mr Damocles who jumped at her loud, barking command.

He frowned slightly before pressing play on the old looking boombox that the school had kept for many years, and soon the typical tango music filled the air. The music seemed to be at a slow pace, and Marinette relaxed slightly, hoping that Mariana was going to start off slow.

"Now take hold of your partner and make sure you hold them close," she instructed.

Marinette and Nathaniel both laughed nervously before taking told of each other. Marinette placed her hand in his and the other hand on his shoulder while Nathaniel's other hand grabbed her waist. He blushed slightly, and Marinette looked back at Mariana, waiting for the next instruction.

She tried to fight back the jealous monster bubbling up inside at the sight of Chloé yanking a startled Adrien towards her before he shook his head and rolled his eyes as she rested her head against his chest, a content smile on her face.

"Oh Adrikins, this is so romantic!"

Marinette gritted her teeth at Chloé's comment, and Nathaniel gave her a concerned look. Mariana continued with her instructions, and Marinette did her absolute best to follow them. Soon the whole class was dancing the routine Mariana had choreographed for them before they began to speed up once they became more confident. Marinette on the other hand was not doing so well. Nathaniel seemed to be picking it up okay, but she kept ruining it. He remained patient with her though, laughing after wincing in pain as Marinette stood on his foot for the tenth time.

"Oh Nath, I'm so sorry!" Marinette gasped.

"No no." Nathaniel laughed. "It's okay. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

Marinette sighed, not believing him. Her eyes remained glued to Adrien dancing with Chloé in the distance. Their movements were perfect, and Mariana nodded and smiled at them as she walked past.

"You too are _very_ good together," she almost purred before moving on and watching the other students.

Mariana then caught sight of Marinette and Nathaniel, and she scoffed before storming towards them.

"Eyes on your partner," she snapped at Marinette.

The music sped up, and so did Nathaniel as a result, causing Marinette to trip.

"No no no no!" Mariana shrieked. "You have about as much grace as an elephant."

Marinette frowned, shrinking away self-consciously. She knew it was true, but was there any need to shout it out like that? A few of her classmates had slowed down to watch what was going on, and they sniggered at Marinette, causing her to blush.

Mariana shook her head before she grabbed hold of both of them.

"Close together, chest to chest por favor."

Marinette gasped as her chest was pressed up against Nathaniel's. They both blushed furiously, causing the classmates near her to laugh even more. Marinette looked down in embarrassment before her chin was grabbed and yanked up by Mariana.

"What did I just say? Eyes on your partner! Now come on, show me what you can do. Be passionate. No smiling! Only show passion as you gaze into each other's eyes."

Suddenly more eyes were on the two of them, and Marinette began to feel incredibly uncomfortable. Nathaniel didn't look too happy either, shooting Mariana glares out of the corner of his eye as she continued to watch them, frowning and tutting at their every movement.

"This is our first time doing this dance you know," Nathaniel muttered at Mariana, who stuck her nose in the air and tutted once again.

Marinette squealed as she tripped again, this time catching Nathaniel off guard as he continued to glare at Mariana from under his bangs. He didn't manage to catch her time, which sent them both tumbling down. Marinette's face became squashed up against his chest, and his arms wrapped around her instinctively. The force of her fall knocked him off balance, and he stumbled back as he tried to right the both of them, ultimately failing miserably.

In the process of trying to regain his balance, he bumped into Alya and Nino, and they too lost their balance. Nathaniel and Marinette both then collapsed on the ground with Marinette lying on top of Nathaniel just as they started a domino effect of everyone in class falling and crashing into each other. Marinette couldn't bring herself to look as everyone else was soon on the ground apart from Adrien and Chloé. Adrien yanked himself away from Chloé's strong, possessive embrace, and looked worriedly at his classmates on the floor who were groaning in pain.

"No!" Mariana shrieked, placing her hands on her cheeks in horror. "What a disaster!"

Managing to pull herself up slightly, Marinette groaned, unknowingly straddling a blushing Nathaniel as she looked around at the mess she had just caused.

"You know, Marinette," Chloé said as she grinned, folding her arms, "if you wanted alone time with Nathaniel, you didn't have to cause a pile up."

Marinette squealed and immediately jumped off Nathaniel, shuffling as far away from him as possible, moving to hide behind Alya in embarrassment. Alya managed to pick herself up and place a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder as Nino also smiled at her.

"Leave her alone Chloé, it was only an accident," Nino defended her.

Chloé scoffed. "Her clumsiness wrecked mine and Adrien's perfect dance."

"It doesn't matter Chlo, it was only an accident," Adrien tried to calm her down.

Mariana yelped as she threw her head back before charging towards Marinette. "You, little walking disaster, will not be allowed in my class."

Mr Damocles cleared his throat. "Actually, Mariana, my dear, I'm not sure this dancing class of yours sounds like a good idea now."

"What?" Mariana yelled in shock.

"I just don't think the students are up for it. Especially with the level of expectation you have."

"But…but…"

"I'm sorry, Mariana." Mr Damocles then frowned at the class who were just managing to pick themselves up off the ground, most of them shooting Marinette reassuring smiles. "Class dismissed," he then announced, causing some of them to cheer.

This only made Mariana angrier.

"Maybe try teaching more experienced dancers," Mr Damocles suggested before walking off back to his office.

Marinette shot Mariana a worried and apologetic look. Mariana merely glared and turned away, causing Marinette to sigh, following Alya back to class with an ashamed look on her face.

"Relax girl, it wasn't your fault," Alya tried to reassure Marinette.

"Yeah," Nino chimed in as he wrapped his arm affectionately around Alya's shoulders, "that woman was too much of a perfectionist. She needed to chillax."

"She _was_ really pushy," Marinette mused.

"Exactly." Alya rolled her eyes. "She seriously needs to learn that not everybody is going to be amazing at dancing."

Marinette smiled at her friends as they headed back into the building, unaware of the dark butterfly that had just flown past behind her.

* * *

 **This chapter was meant to be longer, but I felt like it was getting** _ **too**_ **long so I decided this was the best place to end it. On a slight cliff hanger. Mwah ha ha ha ha! Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think. It definitely helps if you do. See you soon.**


	7. Losing Control

**Hello again! Thank you so much for your awesome reviews and for adding this story to your favourites and alerts.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Losing Control**

Marinette slouched in her seat, barely able to pay attention to Miss Bustier, next to Alya who had lost all hope of comforting her friend. The young hero of Paris really didn't seem to be having that much luck these past few days. Marinette made a mental note to talk to Tikki about that. If ladybugs were supposedly so lucky, then what gives? Why did Marinette's life mainly consist of disaster after disaster?

She couldn't even handle a simple dance class without costing the teacher a potential job. Trying to ignore the glares that she could feel Chloé giving her, she rested her right cheek in her hand, hiding her face as much as possible from the view of the rest of the class. She gazed down at the back of Adrien's head, softly sighing to herself. Another chance to get his attention and she had blown it.

As if he could feel her eyes on him, Adrien turned around, and Marinette froze at having been caught staring at him. He offered her a small reassuring smile before turning back around, and Marinette felt herself sinking down even further into her seat. She really needed to keep herself under control and stop gawping at him so much like a weirdo. Who knew what he could be thinking of her right now? He probably thought she had some sort of obsession with him, which truthfully, she did, but that didn't mean she wanted him to know. Well…the word obsession might be too strong. Undying love?

 _Focus Marinette,_ she mentally scolded herself.

A sudden low booming noise echoed from down the corridor, causing Miss Bustier to stop talking and frown slightly at the door. The rest of the students also listened carefully, and Marinette suddenly had a sinking feeling. The low booming noise continued, and it took Marinette a few seconds to realise it was loud music coming from somewhere else in the school. After being a superhero for a while now, Marinette was fairly certain she knew exactly what was going on.

Her theory was quickly confirmed when the classroom door burst open. The students yelled in fear, and Marinette shrunk back when she saw what looked like the akumatized version of Mariana gallop into the room. Her skin was pale white, and her limbs moved gracefully, her appearance reminding Marinette of the ballerinas inside a music box. Her leotard was protruding out more from her waist and was still a dark red. Her lips and eyes were the same dark red as her leotard, and she was now wearing red ballet shoes with white tights that blended with her skin. In her hand, she carried what looked like a gun which too was dark red with beautiful black swirl patterns engraved on it. As she entered, she did a little twirl before her eyes began scanning the room, finally landing on Marinette.

"There you are," she sang. "Don't worry, my pet, we'll soon turn you into a graceful dancer. The Dancing Queen is here to help you."

Students began running out of the room as Marinette remained frozen, thinking as hard as she could to try and get out of this situation and transform. Dancing Queen fired her weapon, and a bright white light came shooting out of it. Marinette ducked and the light bounced off the back of her chair, hitting Miss Bustier instead. Marinette then watched in horror as her teacher began dancing gracefully and uncontrollably.

"Soon, everyone in Paris will be perfect dancers!" Dancing Queen yelled.

Marinette rolled her eyes and began crawling away only to be stopped by Dancing Queen appearing in front of her.

"And you shall be my most prized dancer!"

Marinette yelped and shrank back, but Dancing Queen's weapon was soon knocked out of her hand by a long silver staff.

"Not so young and sweet are you, Dancing Queen?" Chat Noir smirked before winking at Marinette.

"Chat Noir!" Marinette called out in relief.

Chat Noir then dove forward as Dancing Queen was momentarily distracted trying to retrieve her weapon. Scooping Marinette up into his arms, Chat then took off, running out of the classroom and down the corridor.

"I can't leave you alone for one day," Chat joked, and Marinette rolled her eyes.

Both of them then let out a yelp as Dancing Queen burst back out of the classroom behind him, firing her weapon erratically. Chat Noir tightened his grip on Marinette as he dove out of the way, continuing to run as fast as he could to get her out of harm's way. Luckily, Chat seemed faster as all of Dancing Queen's movements seemed to be some sort of dance.

Seeing his chance, Chat quickly darted behind a corner, piling both him and Marinette into a small janitors' closet. Marinette gulped at the close proximity this put her with Chat Noir, as the small closet caused her to be pressed up against Chat's chest. He didn't seem to notice though as he maintained a serious look on his face and placed his black leather cat ear against the wooden door, listening intently.

"I think she ran past," Chat whispered, turning to gaze down at a slightly trembling Marinette. "Hey, there's no need to be scared," he added gently, grossly misinterpreting Marinette's trembling.

"Yeah, right." Marinette smiled awkwardly.

"Because the super awesome and devilishly handsome Chat Noir is here to protect you."

"Oh thank goodness!" Marinette pretended to swoon.

"Hey!" Chat pouted before he let out a low chuckle. He then became serious again as he carefully opened the door a crack to peek outside. "Okay, I think she's gone. Stay hidden here and I'll lure her away and defeat her."

"Thanks for saving me, Chat." Marinette smiled softly at him, and he smiled back.

"Anytime."

He was about to dash off when Marinette grabbed hold of his hand, startling him slightly.

"Please be careful," Marinette pleaded.

Chat Noir stared at her for a moment, seemingly in a trance before he snapped out of it. He shook his head slightly before grinning and winking at her.

"I'll be fine. Cats have nine lives after all." He then slipped out, closing the door behind him as Marinette rolled her eyes.

Tikki then flew out of her pink backpack. "That was a close one."

"Too close" Marinette whispered before looking at Tikki with a determined look on her face. "Now we've got to get out there and help him. Tikki, spots on!"

The pink light of her transformation filled the entire closet, and soon enough, Ladybug was ready for action. She burst through the closest door and looked around to try and get her bearings. She had no idea which way Dancing Queen and Chat Noir had gone. Following her instincts, Ladybug headed towards the courtyard where all of this had started, and gasped as she saw many students and teachers dancing uncontrollably, their faces slightly pained as they started to become exhausted.

"Help us Ladybug!" someone begged.

"Don't worry, I will," Ladybug reassured them before running out of the school's main entrance.

She looked around frantically and sighed with relief when her eyes finally landed on the sight of Chat Noir screaming and flying through the air, narrowly dodging a blast of white energy.

Without hesitating, Ladybug ran into the action, finally arriving on the street where Chat Noir was laying face down in the middle of the road.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled worriedly, running over to grab his arm and help him up.

"Hello, Ladybug," Chat replied in a monotone voice that stung.

Her heart lurched even more when Chat quickly pulled his arm out of her grip. He was still mad. Then again, Ladybug should have expected this. But she frowned slightly, believing that Chat needed to pull himself together slightly for the sake of the mission at hand.

"Chat…I'm –"

"I'm not in the mood to hear it right now," Chat interrupted her, refusing to look at her.

Ladybug sighed. "Look, Chat, we have a job to do right now, so we need to pull ourselves together for the sake of Paris."

They both yelped as a blast of white light shot through the middle of them. They both jumped back slightly, and Ladybug mentally scolded herself for getting so distracted.

"All couples need to be in harmony!" Dancing Queen yelled.

Ladybug gritted her teeth. "We are not a couple!" she yelled back defensively.

She couldn't help but notice Chat wince slightly out of the corner of her eye, and Ladybug felt her posture droop again as she stared at her partner with a worried look on her face. Chat still refused to meet her eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as if he was trying to hold himself together. The sight broke Ladybug's heart, and she couldn't help but wonder what she had said this time that had hurt his feelings. However, that would have to wait as Dancing Queen fired another beam of energy at them. Chat and Ladybug both dove backwards again, deciding to scatter to give Dancing Queen a tougher time catching them.

Dancing Queen screamed out in frustration before targeting random citizens in the streets. Soon it seemed like most of the population of central Paris was dancing against their will, causing Dancing Queen to laugh loudly.

"We've got to stop her!" Ladybug called over to Chat who was situated on the roof across from her.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Dancing Queen cackled, attempting to shoot another energy beam at them which they managed to dodge.

She then began dancing her way to the Eiffel Tower and when Chat Noir and Ladybug peered down at the bottom of the tower, gasping at the sight before them. What looked to be hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, dancing uncontrollably together.

"What are we going to do?" Chat gasped.

Ladybug hummed, deep in thought. "What we need to do is get close to her and figure out where the akuma is."

"But how are we going to get close?" Chat asked. "She shoots at anyone who isn't dancing."

That's when it hit her.

"Oh man." Ladybug facepalmed, trying her best to think of another plan, but annoyingly failing to do so.

"What?" Chat asked, looking confused.

"How do you feel about being my dancing partner, Chat?" Ladybug inquired awkwardly, shooting her partner a wonky, shaky smile while holding out her hand.

Chat's green cat-like eyes widened, and he stumbled back slightly. His face then turned sullen as he looked away, once again refusing to meet Ladybug's gaze. Ladybug lowered her hand, her face turning sad. Was it truly such a horrible thought to be near her? The thought caused Ladybug to feel like she had just been punched in the stomach as she fought back tears. But now was not the time.

"Look, Chat," Ladybug began gently. "I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be, but right now, Paris needs us."

Chat's stance relaxed slightly, his frown turning into a defeated and worried expression. Ladybug held out her hand again, waiting and hoping that Chat Noir would make the right decision. She didn't want to make Chat uncomfortable, but this was the only way they could get close enough to Dancing Queen without being shot at, and they couldn't save Paris if they were dancing against their will until they dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Unfortunately, this was the only way.

Chat was beginning to realise this as his eyes finally drifted towards Ladybug's outstretched hand. His gaze travelled up her arm before settling on her blue eyes, meeting them for the first time all day; blue eyes which were desperate and pleading.

With a sigh, Chat Noir jumped from the roof he was standing on, landing next to Ladybug before gently placing his hand in hers. Ladybug smiled softly and gratefully as she wrapped her fingers around his, and together, they jumped down from the roof and onto the street below, walking hand-in-hand towards the Eiffel Tower where the large crowd of people were dancing. Dancing Queen stood in the centre, watching with an evil smile on her face as everybody danced perfectly around her.

Ladybug then nervously turned to Chat, her eyes widened in fear as Chat met her gaze curiously.

"I can't dance though," Ladybug whispered in embarrassment.

Despite all of his negative feelings towards her at the moment, Chat Noir couldn't prevent his heart from melting at how nervous and vulnerable his lady looked right now. He gave her a small, reassuring smile before pulling her closer. Ladybug gasped lightly before she swallowed nervously as Chat wrapped has hand around her petite waist and gently held their conjoined hands up. Ladybug's hand automatically went up to his shoulder.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, "I can."

"Gah!" Ladybug couldn't help but jolt slightly as Chat began to waltz around with her.

He let out a small laugh at her terrified expression. Her eyes drifted down to her feet in an effort to make sure she didn't step on Chat's as he began dancing them into the crowd of people.

"Eyes up LB," Chat advised, "we need to make sure we dance as perfectly as possible so she doesn't suspect."

Ladybug gulped but did as she was told. Looking into Chat's eyes was difficult. It was awkward, and she could tell that he was slightly uncomfortable too. Once again, she found herself hypnotised by his deep green eyes. There was something about them that just seemed so familiar to her sometimes, although she could never quite place it.

Ladybug felt herself beginning to trip slightly, though for once, she actually managed to right herself before anything drastic could happen. Alya's advice swirled around in her head about just letting the music carry her. This time, she didn't have to worry about impressing Adrien. It was just her and Chat, and she trusted Chat more than anyone else in the entire world.

Smiling slightly, she let Chat lead her while she followed, her moves becoming more graceful as she relaxed in Chat's arms. Chat Noir certainly wasn't kidding when he said he could dance. His movements were flawless, and Ladybug did her best to compliment him. Without seeming to notice what he was doing, Chat pulled her closer so she was pressed tightly against his chest, her head almost tucked under his chin, however there was still enough space for them to look at each other. Chat's face was neutral and gave nothing away as they danced closer and closer to Dancing Queen. Ladybug wished they could stay like this. No fighting. No tension between them.

"So where do you think the akuma could be?" Chat Noir's question jolted Ladybug out of her thoughts.

Ladybug did her best to subtly look over at Dancing Queen, who was twirling around. Ladybug's eyes narrowed as people began dropping down in exhaustion, causing Dancing Queen to scream at them to get up and keep dancing. The poor exhausted people on the ground still wriggled around as Dancing Queen's magic tried to force them to dance, making them look like they were having some sort of seizure. It was an awful sight to see and Ladybug knew she had to act fast.

Her eyes scanned Dancing Queen, taking in every detail of her attire, her mind ticking away as she tried to figure out where the akuma could possibly be hiding. When Mariana had been teaching the class, she didn't appear to have any sort of object with her, so Ladybug speculated that it must be in something she was wearing. That's when Ladybug looked down. Her dancing shoes. _Of course!_

"I think I might know where the akuma is." Ladybug let out a small triumphant smile.

"Where?"

"Her dancing shoes."

"Makes sense." Chat Noir smiled and began twirling them faster towards Dancing Queen who then noticed them. She gasped and smiled at their dancing.

"Excellente!" She cried out, and Chat and Ladybug merely smirked at each other, subtly nodding at each other.

Closer and closer they danced, all the while Dancing Queen gushed at their talent, entranced by their perfection. A purple butterfly appeared in front of her eyes, however whatever Hawkmoth was ordering, she appeared to be ignoring it. She clasped her hands together, raising them next to her cheek. She was obsessed with perfection, Ladybug thought to herself. This was their chance.

"Now, Chat!" Ladybug shouted, and Chat nodded, letting go of her before ducking down and swiping his leg across the ground, tripping Dancing Queen up, thankfully knocking the weapon out of her hand in the process.

Ladybug seized her chance and grabbed hold of the villain's feet, tugging her shoes off before tearing at the fabric.

"No!" Dancing Queen screamed as a dark purple butterfly began fluttering away as fast as it could.

"Oh no you don't!" Ladybug smirked, swinging her yo-yo and expertly catching the butterfly, de-evilizing it.

Everyone then immediately stopped dancing and began cheering for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Everybody looked exhausted, and instead of crowding around Ladybug like they typically would do, they began heading home, likely for some much-needed rest.

Mariana groaned, placing her hand on her head and looking around in confusion.

"What happened? Where am I?"

Ladybug placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear your dancing class didn't work out." Ladybug wished she could apologise for what had happened during that class, however she was worried that would be too much and give her identity away.

Mariana sighed. "I suppose Mr Damocles is right. I would be better tutoring more experienced dancers. I expected too much of those students."

Ladybug smiled as Mariana thanked her and went on her way. She then turned around to a once again glum looking Chat Noir, and held out her fist to do their typical end of battle fist bump.

"Pound it?" Ladybug asked, slightly fearful.

Chat Noir refused to meet her eyes again, his black ears drooping slightly as he crossed his arms loosely over his chest, a melancholy expression on his face as he gazed out into the distance, looking anywhere except at Ladybug.

Ladybug sighed and lowered her hand slowly before rubbing her other arm up and down awkwardly. She bit her lip, screaming at her brain to think of something to say to make this all better. Unfortunately, her brain was spinning, unable to pause on one coherent thought for even a millisecond. But she had to try. For Chat's sake she had to try and make this right.

Panicking at the sight of Chat about to take off, Ladybug instinctively grabbed hold of his hand, causing him to freeze and stare at her with wide eyes.

"Chat, please don't go," she begged, her voice beginning to shake slightly, "I need to talk to you."

"I don't have anything to say," Chat mumbled, looking away again, trying to pull his hand out of Ladybug's grip, but for once, Ladybug refused to let go.

"I think we both know that's not true." Ladybug sighed sadly. "Shall we go somewhere more private?"

Chat Noir didn't say anything as he began to frown, unsure whether to take Ladybug's request.

"Please, Chat? Then you can shout and scream at me all you want. It's no less than I deserve. I just want to fix this. You're my partner. My best friend. I can't stand this. We need to sort things out," Ladybug babbled, staring at Chat intensely, begging him to agree.

Chat then sighed, gently coaxing his hand out of Ladybug's. This time she relented, letting his hand go before closing her eyes and looking down sadly, expecting Chat to take off.

"Okay," he muttered, and Ladybug's head snapped back up, a shocked expression on her face.

Without saying another word, Chat took off, and Ladybug wordlessly followed, mentally preparing herself for what was about to come. She told Chat that he could shout and scream at her all he wanted, and Ladybug began bracing herself. For him, she would take it all. She had hurt him, and so she expected nothing less.

Chat then came to a sudden stop on a tall rooftop overlooking the city. He kept his back to her as the breeze began to pick up. A storm was forming in the distance with small rumbles of thunder barely audible over the loud Parisian rush hour traffic. Ladybug continued to watch his back, waiting for him to say something, but he never did. His posture was stiff, as if the words were trapped in his throat, so Ladybug decided it was best if she said something; the awkward silence between them was slowly killing her.

"Chat…" Ladybug managed to choke out, her voicing breaking slightly, betraying her fragile emotional state. "I-I'm so sorry. P-please just say something. Shout at me. Scream at me. I know it's probably what you want to do. I deserve it."

Chat's shoulders slumped, and he let out a loud sigh, though he still didn't turn around. "My lady, I don't want to scream and shout at you."

The corners of Ladybug's lips tugged upwards slightly into the ghost of a smile at hearing Chat's most affectionate nickname for her. However, her momentary joy was short lived after hearing his next words.

"And honestly you clearly don't know me that well at all if you think I would do something like that."

Ladybug bit her lip and looked down, beginning to tremble slightly. "It's no less than I deserve though."

"No, Ladybug, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

Chat sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose at her stubbornness. "I just…I just don't understand why you felt like you couldn't tell me something as important as this. The whole need to know only thing was stupid. Don't you think that information, like the fact that there is a miraculous guardian living in the city and that he was the reason I became Chat Noir, is something that I need to know?"

"I –"

"Because I thought we were supposed to be partners, Ladybug?" Chat Noir finally turned around to face her. He didn't look nor sound angry, just incredibly hurt and disappointed, and honestly that hurt more than if he had been angry at her.

Ladybug fought back tears, trying to maintain a level head and listen carefully to everything that Chat had to say. Clearly, he had a lot he needed to get off his chest, and Ladybug was willing to listen. No matter how much she wanted to breakdown, she knew she needed to handle this carefully. She couldn't be selfish and let her own emotions consume her. Not when Chat Noir was hurting so bad because of her.

"I thought we were equals," he continued, "we work together, and anything to do with the miraculous or Hawkmoth and the safety of Paris, we tell each other. I respect that you're going to have secrets, and that you're going to keep certain things hidden from me that might compromise your identity. I respect that you want to keep that a strict secret and I understand your reasons, but something like this is important. And I had to find out by accident. All because you got into serious trouble. It was pure chance that I turned to my kwami for help. What if I hadn't? I wouldn't have known about Master Fu and how he was the best person to help you. I could have put you in even more danger, and then I would have never been able to live with myself."

Ladybug took a shocked step back at his intensity, and Chat seemed to realise that he had crossed some sort of line before he ran his hands frustratingly through his messy blond hair. His green eyes were wild, and Ladybug could almost see the visions that were presenting themselves before him.

"I'm so sorry, Chat," Ladybug gasped out. "I promise I'll tell you everything you need to know."

Chat leaned against the chimney as another crackle of thunder rumbled in the distance.

"And I'll need you to be straight with me from now on as well. No more serious secrets that involve superhero stuff."

"I promise," Ladybug replied quickly, holding her hand up while placing the other on her chest.

"So…" Chat began, "have you always known about Master Fu?"

Ladybug shook her head. "No, not from the very beginning. Apparently, I first met him when he chose me to be Ladybug, but I don't remember that moment. I then met him again a few months later when my kwami got sick. He healed her, though my kwami nor him explained to me who he was. I just assumed he was a normal, albeit slightly naïve old man who thought he was healing some rare species of cat." Ladybug chuckled at the memory before continuing, "But then I found something. Something my kwami deemed to be incredibly valuable. Some sort of miraculous artefact, and I had to take it to Master Fu who was the only person who could understand it. It's what led me to believe that Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste, though of course I got proven wrong."

Chat momentarily looked away before clearing his throat and meeting her gaze again., nodding for her to continue.

"Of course then he could no longer keep it a secret. My kwami explained that he was the last guardian of the miraculous, and we kept in correspondence after that. He gave me advice and explained some of the powers of the miraculous, and why Hawkmoth might be after the ladybug and cat miraculous."

Chat gasped. "And you never told me that crucial piece of information?!"

Ladybug placed her head in her hands, unable to meet his gaze, feeling unbelievably guilty. "I know, I know, I'm so sorry."

Chat sighed. "Well, it's done now, but please explain it to me now."

Ladybug came out of hiding and took a deep breath. "When the cat and ladybug miraculous come together, the holder can become extremely powerful. They obtain an absolute power. Effectively they can bend the universe and nature to their will…to an extent…"

Eyes widening, Chat let out a low whistle. He briefly looked down at his ring before looking back at Ladybug with a confused expression on his face. "To an extent?"

"Possessing both the miraculous grants the holder a wish. However, that wish comes at a cost. See, the universe always has to find some way of balancing itself out. In order to get something, you have to give something. We think that Hawkmoth might be after that wish, however, we don't know what he wants nor what the cost might be, which is why we can't let him get hold of our miraculous. The effects could be devastating."

"Wow…" Chat's voice trailed off in amazement.

"I know," Ladybug responded, looking out into the distant storm before bowing her head slightly.

"Are these secrets the real reason you've been acting so strange lately?" Chat asked curiously.

Ladybug could feel the blush creeping up on her cheeks as she struggled to maintain the uncomfortable feeling of weirdness and embarrassment. Her dreams leapt to the forefront of her mind, screaming at her and swirling around, rending her unable to focus on anything else. She growled and tugged at her twin tails slightly before trying to take a deep calming breath.

"No," Ladybug managed to reply, still looking away to hide her flushed cheeks. "I just haven't been sleeping well."

"That's what you said last time and I'm not sure I buy it anymore." Chat Noir eyed her suspiciously.

Ladybug gulped, frantically trying to come up with an answer. "Well, it is sorta true. I just keep having these strange dreams."

Chat Noir shot her a strange look before his eyes narrowed. He was staring at her intensely, and Ladybug began to feel slightly self-conscious under his gaze. It looked like he was trying to do a difficult calculation in his head, but just couldn't quite seem to grasp at the answer. He kept regarding her suspiciously, and Ladybug got the sense that it wasn't to do with doubt over her answer.

"What?" Ladybug asked after he had been staring at her without saying a word for a little too long.

Chat Noir blinked, snapping out of his daze. "N-nothing."

Ladybug narrowed her eyes at him before he flashed her a cheeky grin, letting her know he was back to his normal self. Grinning back, Ladybug felt herself beginning to relax, hoping that Chat was now feeling slightly better now that he was in the know.

"I promise no more secrets from now on," Ladybug said softly.

"No more secrets, eh?" Chat winked. "So, about your identity?" he half-joked.

Ladybug laughed. "Nice try, Kitty."

"Aww, man." Chat Noir let out an exaggerated huff of defeat.

"Sorry, Chat, but it's just too dangerous. The possible consequences of knowing who the other is just doesn't bare thinking about," Ladybug explained.

Chat Noir sighed, looking out at the storm that had now gotten closer. The thunder was louder now, and an occasional flash of lightening lit up the air around them. The atmosphere around them felt like static, and they both knew that they couldn't be up here much longer, much to Ladybug's dismay. Her heart then sunk as she took in Chat's expression which had once again turned sad and longing.

"Is that why you kept all those secrets from me?" Chat asked quietly. "I honestly seriously wondered if you just didn't trust or even care about me."

Letting out a loud, hurt gasp, Ladybug stormed towards him, this time tears freely spilled from her eyes. Chat turned towards her in shock and worry just as Ladybug poked his chest with her finger.

"You listen here, Kitty!" Ladybug scolded, her voice breaking slightly as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Don't you ever say anything like that! Of course I trust you! And I deeply care about you. You mean more to me than you could ever possibly realise, more than any stupid secret!"

Both of them froze.

A loud boom of thunder echoed through the sky above them, but they didn't seem to notice. Their eyes drifted down to each other's lips, and before Ladybug could even register what was happening, she curiously and slowly leaned in, a slight confused frown on her face. She gently licked her lips as Chat Noir also began slowly leaning down. Ladybug's hands drifted up to Chat's chest, her fingers gripping onto the leather of his suit, holding onto him tightly, frightened of them both drifting apart.

The agonising distance between them was finally closed as their lips unsurely met. Their lips moved together slightly clumsily at first, their eyes automatically closing. They instantly parted slightly, testing each other. The electricity between them pleasantly scolded Ladybug's skin, as if she had just dipped her body into a boiling hot bath. Her lips tingled lightly, and it felt like the core of her body had ignited. She instantly found herself craving more.

With a slight hungry gasp, she closed the distance between them again, this time their lips met slightly more fiercely. Ladybug was still unsure exactly what she was supposed to do, so just let her instincts guide her. His lips tasted salty from her tears with the hint of his own intoxicating scent that Ladybug just wanted to drown herself in. Her dreams of kissing Chat Noir had not done him justice. This was better than anything she could dream of. It felt so right. His lips moulded so perfectly with hers.

It was then that Ladybug's eyes snapped open.

 _What was she doing?!_

Ladybug then abruptly pulled back, her eyes squinting in horror, unable to see past the blur of tears, though she could just about make out the many emotions that crossed Chat's face; it was like watching a flip book. Happiness, confusion and most terrifying of all, a look of intense love and lust.

 _What had she done?!_

Covering her mouth with her hand, Ladybug just about managed to squeak out a few coherent words despite the urge to sob uncontrollably. "I've gotta go."

"No, Ladybug, WAIT!" Chat Noir called out, but it was too late.

As fast as the lightning that flashed above them, Ladybug had whipped out her yo-yo, and in another flash, she was gone.

* * *

 **Dun dun duuuunnn. As always, feel free to review.**


	8. Painful Rejection

**Hi everyone and welcome back! Thank you for the reviews, favourites and follows. It really means a lot to me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Painful Rejection**

Adrien sat miserably at his piano, his expression as depressed as the dark, heavy rain that was pounding against his window. His room was dark, only being briefly lit up by the odd flash of lightning, and the silence was only interrupted by the rumble of thunder that would soon follow as the storm violently crossed the skies of Paris.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Adrien loosened his tight grip on the edge of his stool before delicately brushing his fingers over the ivory keys of his grand piano. A lone tear trickled delicately down his cheek as he began to play a soft, melancholic song. The notes hung heavy in the air as if made of lead. It was haunting and longing, and soon, another tear leaked out of Adrien's other eye. He closed his eyes in an attempt to prevent more from falling, instead concentrating on the music…the song he had composed for Ladybug.

He had always hoped deep within his heart that one day, when their identities were revealed, he could play this song for her in demonstration of his feelings for her. The whole fantasy had been planned out in his head. As soon as he knew who she was beneath that red mask, he could pursue her properly. He would take her out on the most romantic dates and make sure that she never went without; he would make her happy for eternity.

Her kiss…her kiss had given him hope.

The moment her lips collided with his, he felt as if his heart had grown beautiful angel wings and would soar out of his body, high above the city. Never had he ever felt so elated, so happy and so blessed. Because the most beautiful girl in all of Paris, the girl he had loved since they first met that fateful day battling Stoneheart, had kissed _him._

Her lips had been so soft, so unsure and vulnerable that he just wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let her go. Had that kiss meant that his lady had finally fallen in love with him in return? His heart was eternally offered to her on a silver platter, he only wished he had hers to fill the painful void in his chest. At last, it felt like that void was going to be filled.

Any hope of that was soon squashed like an unwanted, pesky insect. It felt like the void in his chest had only been violently and gruesomely ripped open wider, making it more painfully obvious that he was without love in his life. Adrien's chest throbbed painfully at the thought.

His lady had run away.

She had pulled back and run away.

Was Adrien really just that unlovable? Was he cursed to spend eternity lonely and unwanted? He tried to be a good person. He saved Paris on a daily basis, did well in school and tried his best to be nice to everyone. So why did he receive nothing but heart ache in return? It didn't seem fair.

Adrien let the last note draw out, echoing around his large room. A bedroom that had everything any boy his age could want in life. But they were just things. It had everything apart from the one thing his very being was constantly reaching out and hoping for: Ladybug. If he could give up everything just so he could be with her, then he would do so in a heartbeat. His modelling career, his wealth, and all his things were nothing to him. After the disappearance of his mother, Adrien thought that he may never be able to be happy again. That was until he met Ladybug. She gave him hope for the future, and now she had just erased that.

"Look, kid…" Plagg's unusually apprehensive voice interrupted Adrien from his thoughts. "I've been trying to keep quiet and let you get all of these mushy feelings out of your system, but is reminding yourself of Ladybug by playing the song you wrote for her really helping?"

Adrien said nothing as he continued to stare down at the keys in front of him. His eyes traced the outside of them, anything to keep him slightly distracted, otherwise he felt like he would completely fall apart. He had been so close. So very very close. But yet, still so far. Every step forward he seemed to take with Ladybug, he seemed to take another five steps back.

Ladybug certainly was an enigmatic, unusual girl. Then again, Adrien didn't have much experience with girls in general apart from Chloé. Chloé had been his only source of contact with the outside world for the majority of his life as the daughter of one of his mother's closest friends. His parents had always been incredibly protective of him. Why that was, he wasn't so sure. That only got even worse when his mother had disappeared a few years ago, and his father turned even further into a paranoid recluse. Just what exactly was he being protected from? Adrien had always dismissed his parents as being just paranoid because of their fame, but he couldn't help but wonder sometimes if there was more to it than that.

Then again, if it wasn't for that, how differently might his life had turned out? Would he even have met Ladybug? His heart clenched tightly and painfully in his chest as the image of her tear stained face forced its way to the forefront of his mind. Adrien couldn't help but recoil slightly, and this didn't go unnoticed by Plagg.

"I could smack that girl," he hissed with a hostility that Adrien had never heard before. Plagg was often too lazy to be angry.

"Well don't!" Adrien hissed back. "Leave her alone!"

Plagg stared at Adrien in shock. "How can you still be so protective of her and defend her?"

"Because I love her!" Adrien cried out. He could feel his fragile resolve fracturing even more as even more tears leaked out of his green eyes.

Plagg frowned. "Well she clearly doesn't love you so just get over her."

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Adrien practically screamed.

He abruptly stood up, knocking the piano stool over with such force, the clatter sound echoed around the room. Adrien paced around his bedroom, unable to hold back his sobs any longer, crying into his hands before flinging himself onto his bed.

Plagg sighed before slowly hovering over to him, unsurely placing his little paw on Adrien's exposed cheek, giving his holder a gentle tap.

"I'm sorry," Plagg whispered, "I didn't mean what I said, I was just trying to say anything that might help you snap out of it."

Adrien sniffed, but otherwise said nothing, clinging onto his pillow for dear life. It was all becoming too much for him. Every loss he had suffered in his life. The lack of attention, lack of love and rejection. He didn't know how much more he could take.

"You're right though Plagg," Adrien finally managed to choke out. "Ladybug doesn't love me."

He could've sworn he heard Plagg let out a low growl, but he wasn't too sure. Plagg began muttering something under his breath that Adrien couldn't quite hear, possibly something about killing some sort of tikki, though at the moment, he didn't really care. He just wanted to curl up into a ball on his bed for all eternity. At least this way, the people around him couldn't hurt him anymore.

"I think Ladybug does love you," Plagg finally said slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"W-what?" Adrien peaked out from the fabric of his pillow slightly to curiously watch Plagg who was frowning with his arms crossed tightly over his little chest. "If she truly loved me then she wouldn't have run away."

"She was also the one who made the first move. _She_ kissed _you,_ remember?"

Adrien couldn't think of a response to that.

Plagg rolled his eyes. "She's probably just confused. I know how you humans can get with your emotions and hormones sometimes. That's why I stick to cheese. Cheese is so uncomplicated."

Adrien sighed. "We're not all simple gluttons like you."

Plagg smiled as he saw a small hint of a smile tugging at the corner of Adrien's lips. However, their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Plagg quickly hid in Adrien's shirt and Adrien sat up quickly, managing to wipe away all traces of tears from his face before the door opened and his father strode into the room.

Gabriel Agreste then stopped a few feet away from Adrien, his hands clasped tightly behind his back before he regarded his son, his grey eyes narrowing slightly.

"Shouldn't you be practicing piano at this time?" his father asked sharply, the muscles on his face tightening slightly.

Adrien bowed his head before he mumbled, "I didn't really feel like it."

Much to his shock, his father's eyes softened slightly as he took a few steps closer, though made no attempt to make any move to comfort his clearly upset son. Adrien gave up trying to hide it. He knew his father would only see through him anyway. He would just have to make up some sort of believable lie as to why he looked so miserable.

"I understand." Gabriel's voice become more monotone. "It is approaching the anniversary."

Adrien pressed his lips into a tight line, bowing his head even more. He had been trying his best not to think about that too much, and his father's reminder threatened to send him over the edge again. He placed his hands into the pocket of his jeans in an attempt to hide his clenched fists. If only his father would tell him what had happened, then maybe he could have slightly more closure. However, his father only revealed that she had gone hiking in the mountains of Tibet and she was never heard from again.

One thing that confused him more than anything was what on earth was his mother doing in Tibet? His father never answered that question. He remembered that after she wasn't heard from, his father went searching for her personally while Adrien stayed in Paris. Though he did also remember the day his mother left for her journey. At the time, she had not said where she was going, just that she had some urgent business to attend to. His mother had looked extremely worried and left in quite a haste, unable to say a proper goodbye to him.

That's what haunted Adrien the most. The fact he never got to say a proper goodbye.

From all the vague evidence he was able to gather, Adrien couldn't help but come to the conclusion that his mother was likely…Adrien felt his stomach and heart drop at the very thought again. He could never bring himself to say, or even think of that awful finalising word.

"We'll get through it though." Those words Gabriel spoke were supposed to be of comfort, though the monotone voice in which he spoke them did nothing to reassure Adrien.

He was always much closer to his mother than he was his father. Adrien felt like him and his father never bonded properly, and it was always a foreign feeling to Adrien whenever his father attempted a heart to heart talk with him.

Gabriel then sighed. "I _will_ fix this."

Adrien's head snapped up, looking at his father curiously. "How? You can't erase the past."

His father said nothing, his grey eyes merely staring back at his son before his eyes flickered to his hand and then back to his face again.

"We'll see." Gabriel murmured before speaking up again. "I will permit you to not practice your piano skills tonight. Though I expect you to spend an extra hour practicing tomorrow night."

"Yes, father." Adrien nodded obediently, his gaze drifting back down to the floor.

Gabriel nodded before making his way out of Adrien's bedroom, closing the door behind him. Plagg wasted no time in flying back out of Adrien's shirt pocket.

"Aw man, kid, I didn't realise," Plagg said, looking sadly at Adrien.

Adrien waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine."

Adrien heaved a sigh, making his way back onto his bed and collapsing onto his sheets once again, his limbs dangling off the edge as he gazed up at the ceiling, visions of Ladybug once again dancing across his vision. His lips tingled at the thought of their kiss, and he reached up to gently run his finger across them, wishing with all his heart that Ladybug had never pulled away.

He could have stood there forever, kissing her for eternity. He wondered if he shouldn't have let her run off. Make her face what had happened between them and discuss it properly. But it had all happened to fast. He had no chance in grabbing hold of her before she fled. He was still just as confused and taken aback as she was that he had no time to properly register what was going on.

Plagg sighed. "Look, just give Ladybug some time."

Adrien shot Plagg a glare. "I know you don't mean that advice."

Plagg merely shrugged. "I'm trying my best here, but you humans just make things so much more complicated than they need to be."

"Clearly you've never been in love," Adrien huffed as he picked up his pillow and dumped it over his face, hiding himself from the world.

"Of course I've been in love. I love swiss –"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I've heard it all before," Adrien interrupted his kwami before turning over and curling into a tight ball.

Plagg shot Adrien a sympathetic look, floating down to sit on top of the pillow Adrien was currently hiding his face in.

"Things will work out, kid. You'll see," Plagg reassured. "In the meantime, I suggest you keep your eyes open. Your true love might be _closer_ than you think."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Plagg let out a low growl, frowning straight ahead. "You really are a hopeless case."

.

Marinette lay in bed, curled into a tight ball, her fingers gripping the edges of her pillow that she had pressed on top of her head. Her heart had yet to quit pounding in her chest after what had happened hours ago. Her room was now dark. Though the storm appeared to have blown over, the rain continued, pattering against her window and roof as if the weather itself was reflecting her very mood.

Tears continued to streak down her cheeks, though she had managed to calm down the majority of her sobbing. Her throat felt dry and like it was trying to close up and choke her, as if a boa constrictor had wrapped its coils around her neck, trying to suffocate the life out of her. Marinette had not spoken a word since it happened, and she could feel Tikki's worried eyes watching her.

Tikki had spent the last few hours trying to talk to Marinette, though her holder had been actively ignoring her. Eventually, her kwami had given up and just watched silently, hoping that Marinette would snap out of her shocked state soon and face things.

Another hour ticked by and Marinette hadn't moved. She remained frozen and tense, as if braced for an impact that was never going to come. The only movement that was visible was Marinette's laboured breathing as she continued to struggle to calm herself down. Tikki sighed and cautiously floated closer towards her holder, hoping that seeing her movement might snap Marinette out of it slightly, but no such luck. Marinette continued to lie there, frozen and unmoving.

Tikki then frowned, deciding to try and talk to Marinette once again. "Marinette?"

No response.

"Marinette, you can't lie there like that forever," Tikki said, floating even closer to try and see if she could see any hint of Marinette's face under her pillow. "Everything is going to be okay, there's nothing wrong with having feelings for Chat Noir."

This seemed to snap Marinette out of her catatonic state. She flung her pillow off her face and glared menacingly at Tikki. Tikki was taken aback; this was not like Marinette at all.

"I do not have feelings for Chat Noir!"

"Okay okay, shhhh," Tikki tried to soothe her emotional holder. "Your parents are asleep remember."

"I don't even care anymore," Marinette choked out as she turned around to face the wall.

Tikki gasped. "Oh Marinette, you and I both know that's not true."

"I cheated on Adrien, Tikki," Marinette whispered, her tone incredibly pained, before she shot up into a sitting position and tugged at her hair. "I. Cheated. On. Adrien." She then smothered the pillow against her face and screamed into it before her screams morphed into sobs.

"You haven't cheated on Adrien, Marinette, you're not even with Adrien."

"Thanks for reminding me," Marinette sobbed as she clumsily rolled back over, lying down on her bed with her pillow covering her face.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Tikki sighed. "You might have a crush on Adrien, while at the same time, you have feelings for Chat Noir."

"I do not!" Marinette hissed, peaking out from behind her pillow to glare at her kwami.

"So why did you kiss him then?"

Marinette lay there speechless. "I…I don't know."

Tikki gently reached out and brushed her holder's black hair to the side and soothingly stroked her forehead. This seemed to tip Marinette over the edge again as she started crying into her already tear soaked pillow. Marinette couldn't believe that she had been so careless and thoughtless. She had no idea why she had kissed him, but she was horrified at the thought.

She wondered what Chat Noir would possibly think of her now. He would probably want nothing to do with her ever again. Who just randomly kisses one of their best friends like that? But yet…he had kissed her back. What did that mean? Marinette always had an inkling that Chat might have some sort of small crush on her, but she was never one hundred percent sure as Chat seemed to flirt with any girl he came across.

 _Oh no!_ What if it was true and he did have a crush on her? Now Marinette had given him false hope.

Letting out a scream that was muffled by her pillow, Marinette curled into an even tighter ball, wishing that she could just disappear right this second and never have to face anyone ever again. That would suit her just nicely. Just as she had made things up with Chat, she had to go and ruin it by blurring their relationship, possibly confusing and hurting Chat even more in the process. Marinette just couldn't seem to do the right thing lately.

"Marinette, you need to talk to him about this, you can't just ignore it."

Marinette sighed. "What's the point? I'll only end up screwing things up again. Chat Noir is better off without me."

"Chat Noir needs you Marinette. You're a team and you need to remember that," Tikki explained.

"I'm so confused, Tikki."

Tikki had never heard Marinette sound more vulnerable and lost in all the time that Tikki had known her holder. It was awful to see her Ladybug breaking apart like this, but honestly, it was par for the course with many ladybug and cat miraculous holders. Tikki had hoped she would be used to it by now in all her thousands of years in dealing with humans, but it still broke her heart anytime she saw one of her holders in pain. Humans were so complicated, but Tikki wanted to do her best to provide her wisdom and help her holders out.

"I know Marinette, but unfortunately there's only so much I can help you with. This is something you have to figure out on your own. But what I will say is that you can't ignore this. You need to talk to Chat."

Marinette whimpered, but she knew Tikki was right. As soon as she could tomorrow, she would force herself to face Chat. They both had patrol together tomorrow night, and Ladybug was hoping that Chat would show up. Then she could apologise for her stupid behaviour and hopefully save their friendship.

Marinette was sure that it was just her dreams that were messing with her head. There was no way that she was in love with Chat Noir. She loved Adrien, and you can't be in love with two people at the same time. Marinette liked to think that she was a better person than that. Though her actions these past few days had proved her wrong. She had been horrible and selfish at the cost of Chat's feelings, and Marinette really needed to learn from this. As a superhero, she needed to hold it together better. Not only for her own sake, but for Chat's too. She had played with his feelings too much lately.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Marinette announced nervously and Tikki smiled.

"Good. I believe in you Marinette."

Marinette managed to crack a small smile at her kwami before turning over to try and get some sleep. Just as Marinette closed her eyes, they were suddenly startled open again by the blaring of her alarm. Quickly turning over again, Marinette silenced her phone and groaned, rubbing her face with her hands as she realised that it was in fact starting to get light in her room. In her state, she had completely lost track of time and now she begrudgingly had to face the day with no sleep at all on top of having had little sleep the few nights before.

"Morning already?" Even Tikki seemed astounded.

Marinette groaned again as she sat up. Her eyes were heavy, and her head pounded slightly after having spent most of the night crying. With a sigh, she got out of bed and did her typical morning routine, once again making sure to cover her graze up with make-up. The stupid thing was taking forever to heal and still looked pretty nasty.

Afterwards, she quietly had breakfast with her mother who seemed to notice her daughter's aura of sadness, but did not press Marinette on the issue which she was incredibly thankful for. Once she had finished breakfast, Marinette made her way downstairs, saying goodbye to her father who was busy making some pastries in the bakery, and for once, Marinette was in no particular rush as she was making good time.

Alya was already waiting for her outside, sitting on the steps leading up to the school's main entrance. She was sat next to Nino, the pair of them hand in hand as they chatted and laughed together before Alya smiled and waved as she caught sight of her best friend. Marinette picked up her pace and made her way over, forcing a smile on her face as she greeted her friend.

"Wow, girl, you look even worse than yesterday," Alya commented, pulling Marinette in for a quick hug.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I know, I just really haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Aww, how come?" Alya asked sympathetically.

Before Marinette could come up with a lie, Nino thankfully interrupted.

"Looks like my bro's arrived," he announced as a the familiar posh silver car pulled up outside the school.

Sure enough, Adrien stepped out of the car, and Marinette couldn't help but guiltily look away before he turned around. Her heart shrivelled up in her chest as a lump formed in her throat, and Marinette tried her best to hold herself together as she began drowning in guilty thoughts. She had cheated on Adrien. Sure, Tikki was right in that they weren't together, but in Marinette's head, it still counted. She was supposed to be in love with Adrien, and yet she had kissed Chat Noir. The thought nearly made Marinette choke, causing Alya to shoot her a concerned look before both she and Nino waved Adrien over.

Marinette peaked at him from underneath her eyelashes and she nearly gasped out loud at how awful he looked. He had dark bruises under his eyes which were slightly bloodshot, and his greeting smile at the three of them seemed strained. Honestly, Adrien looked as bad as Marinette felt. She wondered why. The thought of Adrien hurting pained her, and she shuffled through her brain to try and think of something to say.

"Don't tell me you didn't get a lot of sleep again either?" Nino asked incredulously. "Honestly, you and Marinette are just as bad as each other."

Alya smirked and raised an eyebrow suspiciously, elbowing Marinette's arm lightly. "It's almost as if the two of you are up to something together in the dead of night."

Adrien and Marinette both stared at her like deer caught in headlights, both of their faces turning bright red before they started stuttering, causing Alya to laugh.

"Relax guys, I was only joking."

Marinette let out a small sigh of relief, mentally cursing her best friend. Adrien seemed to see the funny side though as he laughed awkwardly with her. Marinette forced out a chuckle, playing awkwardly with a loose strand of her hair that hung down in front of her pigtails.

However, everyone's attention was soon caught by a black limo that no one had even seen before. It pulled up smoothly outside their school, and everyone watched in fascination as the driver's door opened. Marinette wondered if they had another new student joining them. She hadn't heard any rumours like that when Alya and Adrien were due to join their class, so maybe this would be another new surprise classmate for them.

A man soon stepped out of the driver's door. A man who looked vaguely familiar to Marinette, though she couldn't quite place it. He was dressed all in black, including a black bowler hat with black hair that he styled in a slick ponytail. As he stepped out, he ignored the stares of all the students and made his way down to the passenger door at the back before he opened it and held his hand out.

A small, pale hand with long fingers appeared to graciously take it, and a few people gasped as a rather beautiful looking woman stepped out. She was of medium height, quite skinny with thick wavy blonde hair styled in a bob cut. Her eyes were a gorgeous bright blue that sparkled slightly in the light, and she was dressed in stylish clothing: a knee length black pencil skirt that almost met her knee high black leather, high heeled boots, and she also wore a frilly white, long sleeved blouse that she had neatly tucked into her skirt.

Marinette certainly couldn't help but admire her. The woman looked positively glamourous.

Mr Damocles was suddenly running out of the school's entrance, towards the mysterious lady, who smiled as they leaned in to kiss each other's cheeks in greeting.

"Ah Ms. Couture, I'm so glad you could make it," Mr Damocles greeted, "it certainly is kind of you to hold this workshop for our students. Let's just hope you have more luck than the last one we had," he muttered that last part.

"W-wait." Alya gasped, and her and Marinette both looked at each other with shocked expressions.

"Couture?" The two girls both said at the same time.

"As in Nina Couture? One of Paris' top fashion designers next to Gabriel Agreste?" Marinette said, excitement bubbling in her voice.

"Creator of the Nina brand?" Alya continued.

"No way!" Nino laughed. "What's someone like her doing at our school? I thought no one hardly ever saw her in person? She's been rather on the quiet side for years now."

"I don't know, but isn't this amazing?!" Alya squealed, and Marinette couldn't help but squeal with her, her troubles momentarily stored away in her mind.

"Who's Nina Couture?" Adrien asked, confused.

The three of them stared at him in shock.

"Dude, how can you not know who Nina Couture is?" Nino asked in shock.

"She's only your father's most famous rival in the fashion industry. Their competitions used to get _fierce_ ," Alya explained.

Adrien frowned. "Then how come I've never heard of her?"

Their conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of Chloé's shrill screaming. The screaming blonde girl ran down towards the limo with Sabrina trailing behind her. Marinette and Alya shared a disbelieving look before frowning at Chloé, watching as she pushed past Mr Damocles to stand in front of a stunned Nina. Nina then leaned on one foot, placing her right hand on her hip while looking at Chloé curiously.

"Ms. Couture, I'm a huge fan of your work," Chloé began boasting, "it's great to see you back in Paris. I'm Chloé Bourgeois, you may have heard of my father, the mayor, André Bourgeois."

Marinette watched in shock as Nina's face seemed to twist at the mention of Chloé's surname.

"Oh, so you're a _Bourgeois,_ are you?" Nina's soft, high voice asked, sneering slightly.

Chloé nodded, flicking her blonde ponytail back.

Nina smirked. "Then I hope you don't mind helping me with my bags then, seen as you're such a big fan."

Nina mockingly flicked her own hair back, walking towards the school's main doors with grace and poise as Chloé stood there in a state of complete and utter shock. Alya, Marinette and Nino laughed as they watched the man who was dressed in black hand over some boxes and bags into the hands of Chloé and Sabrina. Steam practically hissed out of Chloé's ears, and her face turned bright red in anger.

"Who does she think she is?! H-how dare she?! Just wait until I tell daddy about this!"

This made Marinette, Alya and Nino laugh even more while Adrien just stared down at the ground in confusion. Marinette then turned to watch Nina in fascination, almost transfixed by her perfect movements, the flow of her walk and the confidence in which she held herself. And of course, Marinette could not help but respect the way in which she had handled Chloé. It was good for someone to see exactly what Chloé was like right from the start rather than being taken in by her fake charm, or be fearful of her due to her father's position.

As if sensing Marinette's watching eyes, Nina turned and stared directly at Marinette. Marinette froze at the intensity of the woman's gaze, and she felt a chill run up her spine, though she couldn't figure out why. Maybe because she had been caught staring. However, Marinette couldn't look away, their eyes remaining locked together as Nina climbed the school steps.

It was as if this woman had some powerful hold over Marinette, freezing her in place. Nina offered Marinette a small smile before she thankfully looked away, releasing Marinette from her captivating spell. Nina then disappeared into the school with Chloé and Sabrina following behind, their hands full of things and beyond annoyed expressions on their faces.

Marinette snapped out of her confusing trance as the laughter among her friends began to die down. Luckily none of them seemed to have noticed the bizarre staring competition that seemed to have taken place between the young hero and the mysterious, famous designer that seemed to be visiting their school.

"That was priceless," Alya managed to gasp out as random fits of giggles continued to escape her.

"Too right," Nino agreed as he elbowed Adrien, snapping him out of his fascination with the ground. "Dude, you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, just thinking," Adrien responded, still frowning.

Alya laughed again. "This means this workshop we apparently seem to have with her should be hilarious. I think I'm going to like Nina."

Marinette smiled, gazing back at the door she had disappeared behind. "Me too."

* * *

 **Again, another chapter I had to cut short because it was just getting too long. I get too carried away writing sometimes. I noticed that when I went to check to see if my last chapter had uploaded properly that there were some typos. I'm really sorry if that interrupted the flow for you guys, but you see I'm working on this alone. I do proof read my chapters two, sometimes three times, but obviously some still slip past my radar. Sorry about that. As always, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and have a nice day!**


	9. Identity Slip

**Wowzers, thank you so much for the amazing support on the last chapter guys. It really puts a smile on my face to see how much people are enjoying this story, thank you. I nearly accidentally uploaded one of my essays instead of this chapter. Somehow, I don't think you guys would be that interested in British factory conditions in the 19** **th** **century hahahaha, I'm so tired x_x**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Identity Slip**

Marinette sat excitedly in her seat as Miss Bustier finished the register. For once, she was actually genuinely excited for a workshop, and she hoped that things would go better than last time. To get to work in close proximity with a real fashion designer made Marinette giddy with anticipation. Sure, Gabriel Agreste had always been her favourite fashion designer, but she had always liked Nina Couture too, and Marinette hoped this would give her good experience and recognition.

This was Marinette's chance to shine and impress.

"Okay class," Miss Bustier announced, "we will soon have a guest coming into our class: Nina Couture, the fashion designer. I want you to all be on your best behaviour and be a positive reflection of our school."

Alya smiled and shook her head as Marinette practically began bouncing in her seat. This workshop was going to be perfect for her; it was right up her street. Sure, Nina had given her a strange vibe, but Marinette chalked that up to her just being nervous around someone so famous. It did strike her as slightly odd though that this was the first time Nina had officially been out and about in public for a long time. Maybe she would explain that today? Nina Couture could almost be mysterious as Gabriel Agreste sometimes. Perhaps it was just a fashion designer thing.

"Now, let's give Ms. Couture a warm welcome," Miss Bustier encouraged as the classroom door opened.

Nina swiftly walked in, carrying a pile of boxes in her hands before placing them down on Miss Bustier's desk. The class watched curiously as she set them out neatly. Miss Bustier took a step to the side of the class, observing everything with a small smile on her face, before she walked out of the room, leaving Nina to her workshop.

Marinette giggled slightly when she caught sight of Chloé huffing and crossing her arms over her chest, looking away from Nina in disgust. Once she was finished arranging her boxes into a neat line, Nina clapped her hands together and smiled warmly at the class, her intense blue eyes once again briefly meeting Marinette's, though thankfully they did not linger.

"It's lovely to meet you all." Nina's soft musical voice filled the room. "I'm Nina Couture, though you can just call me Nina. I'm here today because I need your help."

Many people in the class turned to look at each other in confusion.

Nina continued, "I have started work on my new autumn line, though I must confess, I find myself a little bit stuck. So, I thought, who better to turn to than my target audience for help: young people. I thought this workshop would be a great idea to teach you about the fashion industry for any who are interested, while at the same time, I can get creative ideas that will appeal to you guys."

The class began murmuring to each other excitedly. Marinette struggled to contain her squeals of excitement. This was another excellent opportunity to show her ideas to the world, much like when she won the derby hat competition Gabriel Agreste had set, only this time it was even better. She would be working in close quarters with a real famous fashion designer. Marinette began to wonder if things were going to start looking up for her now after the string of bad luck that she had had the past couple of days.

"I've brought with me plenty of sketching paper, pencils, paints, you name it, and feel free to be as creative as possible," Nina explained, tilting one of the boxes slightly so the students could see what was inside.

Rose raised her hand.

"Yes, sweety?" Nina asked.

"Does that mean we can design anything we want? And it could be a part of your autumn line?"

Nina smiled. "That's exactly what it means."

The classes excited murmuring increased. Marinette turned to Alya with a bright smile on her face and Alya smiled back in encouragement.

"Girl, this is perfect for you," Alya whispered happily. "Your designs will totally make it into her line for sure."

Marinette let out a quiet squeal, clasping her hands under her chin and tensing slightly in an effort to contain her excited fidgeting. Nina began walking around the classroom, handing out paper while telling students that they could get up and get any materials they wanted out of the boxes. Once she had gotten her sheets of paper, Marinette immediately went to work, using her own artistic pencils and sticking her tongue out while she worked her magic. She wasn't too sure what she was going for at first, though her musing was interrupted by something that Nino said which caught her attention.

"Hey, Ms. Couture, you'll never guess who this guy is," Nino laughed as he pointed towards Adrien who was sat there glaring at Nino. Nina had just handed them their paper and looked between Nino and Adrien curiously, waiting for Nino to continue.

"Adrien Agreste," Nino chuckled, and Adrien sighed in annoyance. "Son of Gabriel Agreste."

Nina stiffened slightly. Her smile remained on her face, though it was slightly more rigid, and Marinette watched her curiously out of the corner of her eye. Nina then seemed to unfreeze herself before she offered Adrien a warm smile.

"Ah yes, I see it in the eyes now," Nina said, taking a good look at Adrien with slightly narrowed eyes. "My my, you have grown. The last time I saw you, you were a tiny baby. And now you're working for the competition." She laughed slightly at her own joke.

Adrien regarded her curiously. "You know, my father has never really mentioned you."

Nina sighed as she began returning to the front of the class. "No, I suppose he hasn't." She appeared to mumble her answer more to herself than to Adrien.

Adrien and Nino exchanged a curious glance before getting on with their work.

Marinette chewed on the end of her pencil, every so often she glancing in Nina's direction. She was leaning back against the desk, appearing to be lost in thought, her dazzling blue eyes were fixated on the floor as a blank expression decorated her face. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her, and soon enough, she seemed to snap out of her daze and began watching the class as they worked. Marinette took that as her cue to look away and get back on with her work. It did strike her as odd that Adrien did not know who Nina was, however, she easily explained it away as being a result of Adrien having been locked away from the world for most of his life and having little to do with his father. For that reason, maybe it had just never come up in conversation.

Shaking her head to snap herself out of her thoughts, Marinette began concentrating harder on her designing. In her creative improvisation, she had ended up designing a jacket, perfect for the autumn breeze. She themed it around the changing colour of the leaves, dipping her paint brush into the red water colour paint, unknowingly getting some on her face in the process as she tapped her cheek with the brush end as she pondered where the pockets should go on her design.

Marinette was so enveloped in her work that it made her jump slightly when a shadow suddenly began blocking out her light. Sensing immediately who it was, Marinette looked up to find Chloé looking down and sneering at her design.

"Like anyone is gunna wanna wear that," Chloé teased. "Everybody knows that pink is the new red."

Marinette glared at her before getting back to painting. "It's supposed to be autumn themed Chloé," she explained, "I thought everybody with at least one brain cell like you could have worked that out."

"What did you just say to me?!" Chloé snapped. "And don't think I didn't notice you laughing at me earlier."

Marinette couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips. "Well, it was pretty funny seeing you get knocked off your pedestal."

Chloé let out a screech of frustration before grabbing hold of Marinette's cup of paint water and throwing it all over her. Marinette gasped as she registered what had just happened as the entire front of her body was soaked. Standing up slightly and gasping for air under the small water that cascaded off her hair, Marinette then watched in horror as some of the water dripped off her and onto her design, ruining it. Tears began welling up in her eyes, though she bit them back. She could feel everybody's eyes in the class on her, and Marinette had never felt so humiliated. All the while, Chloé laughed at what she had done.

Before Marinette could retort, she froze when she caught sight of Nina abruptly storming up behind Chloé, her face in an almost thunderous rage with some acrylic paint gripped tightly in her hand. Much to the class' shock, Nina squirted the red paint into Chloé's hair, causing the girl to scream. Before Chloé could turn around, Nina dumped the paint tube into the confused hand of Sabrina, who looked down at the paint in shock before looking back at Chloé with fear in her eyes just as she caught sight of the paint in Sabrina's hand.

"You!" Chloé screamed as Sabrina began stuttering and taking automatic steps back, away from Chloé's fierce rage.

The whole class burst out laughing, and Nina shot Marinette a sympathetic look. Chloé turned back to glare at Marinette before her face turned to one of disgust as she caught sight of something on Marinette's forehead.

"Ew, Marinette, what's the gross thing on your forehead?" Chloé laughed.

Everyone's eyes then went to Marinette's forehead, and Marinette gasped as she realised that the water must have washed off some of her make-up. Mentally cursing and going into panic mode, Marinette quickly covered her graze with her hand, her panicked eyes flicking to Adrien who sat there with a beyond terror-stricken expression on his face.

 _Please don't figure it out, please don't figure it out,_ Marinette mentally begged as Adrien remained frozen and staring at her with eyes wide as saucers.

"Marinette?" Nina's soft, calm voice interrupted her internal panic. "Would you like to be excused to clean yourself up?"

Marinette said nothing and merely nodded, not trusting her own voice. Chloé scoffed and stormed towards Nina before pointing towards the door.

"I demand to be excused to clean myself up too!" Chloé bossily commanded.

Nina titled her head to the side. "I don't see anything wrong with you. Red is the new pink after all."

As the class erupted into laughter, Marinette dashed out of the room as quickly as she could, running towards the nearest bathroom before anyone could see her. Gulping back sobs of embarrassment, Marinette gripped the edges of the porcelain sink before finally managing to force herself to look in the mirror. Sure enough, her large forehead graze was perfectly visible above her terrified blue eyes. She was dripping wet, the water possessing a slight red hue from her paint.

Marinette began running the hot water tap and splashed some over her face. The warm water felt nice on her skin after just having been drenched with cold water. However, Marinette soon jumped as she heard the bathroom door open before she relaxed instantly when she saw it was just Alya.

"Nina let me come and see if you're okay," Alya said softly, stroking her friend's damp shoulder.

"I'm used to Chloé's bullying by now." Marinette sighed sadly.

"I tried to save as much of your design as I could, unfortunately much of the lower half of the paper is soaking wet," Alya explained as she handed Marinette some tissues.

Marinette sighed as she began dabbing the tissues on her shirt in an attempt to get rid of the damp stains that now adorned her. Luckily, it was only water colour paint and would easily wash out. Marinette then looked back in the mirror at her dishevelled face, her bangs turning frizzy after having been soaked.

"And what on earth did you do to your forehead, Mari?" Alya finally asked.

Marinette shrugged. "I just banged my head. It looks worse than it is."

"I'll say," Alya whispered before speaking up, "why did you cover it up?"

"Because it's embarrassing," Marinette half-lied.

Alya rolled her eyes. "You really are something else, Mari."

Marinette couldn't help but smirk before she gave up trying to dry her shirt off with tissues and instead just made her way over to the hand dryer. She pressed the large silver button and stretched her shirt up, away from her skin and held it under the warm air that came blasting out, all the while struggling to pay attention to what Alya was talking about over the noise of the hand dryer. In the end, Marinette gave up and figured that she had done the best that she could.

"Do you have any foundation?" Marinette asked Alya as she went to stand back by the mirror, poking her graze in annoyance.

"Yeah, but it's for my skin tone," Alya said as she reached into her jean pocket and pulled it out.

Marinette took it regardless. "It doesn't matter, I'll make it work somehow," she explained as she gently squeezed a tiny pea-sized portion onto her finger.

It was a lot darker than her skin tone, but honestly Marinette would rather have a darker patch of skin than have her graze on full display, lest it make Adrien connect the dots and expose her as Ladybug. Doing the best she could, Marinette decided it was the best result she was going to get after she had finished covering her graze, trying her best to blend it with her skin. Gratefully, she handed Alya her make-up back and the two began making their way back to class.

Everyone was back to work when they returned. Amusingly, Chloé still had red paint in her hair which hilariously contrasted with her pale blonde locks. Marinette and Alya wordlessly sat back down, and Marinette sighed sadly at her now ruined design. Alya handed her a spare piece of paper, though Marinette couldn't bring herself to concentrate anymore. She found her eyes once again being drawn back to Nina who was back leaning against the desk. The fashion designer offered Marinette a brief reassuring smile before glaring back at Chloé, keeping her eyes on her.

The class soon began talking amongst themselves again, and Marinette jumped when Adrien turned around towards her.

"Hey, Marinette," he greeted with a strained smile on his face.

"H-hey," Marinette nervously stuttered out her reply.

"I hope you're okay? Sometimes Chloé has a hard time controlling her temper."

Marinette narrowed her eyes at that. She loved Adrien with all her heart, but he could be very naïve when it came to Chloé sometimes.

"If you say so," Marinette finally replied through clenched teeth.

"How did you get that graze? It looks pretty nasty."

 _Oh no._

"I…ummm…fell." Marinette raked through her brain, trying to think of a good, believable lie. "I f-fell from my b-balcony and landed on my floor in my room," she replied slowly and cautiously.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. "Oh. Well, I hope you're okay?"

Marinette bit her lip and nodded her head a bit too enthusiastically. _Phew, he seems to have bought it,_ Marinette thought to herself, feeling relieved. Adrien stared at Marinette with slightly narrowed and confused eyes for a few more seconds before her turned away, and Marinette released a breath she didn't realise she was holding.

"What was all that about?" Alya whispered, and Marinette merely shrugged in response, once again not trusting herself to speak.

For the rest of the class, Marinette was unable to get any work done, instead simply sitting at her desk with her head in her hands. It looked like she had spoken too soon about her luck beginning to turn for the better. She just hoped that this wasn't a bad omen for the rest of the day and that her talk with Chat Noir later would go well.

Soon enough, the bell rang, drawing Marinette's attention away from the blank piece of paper in front of her. Well, that was it. Her chance to impress a famous fashion designer was gone. The thought caused Marinette to sigh sadly to herself.

Slowly, she began packing her things away just as other people had began making their way out of class. Alya had already left with Nino, and just as Marinette was making her way out of the door, her heart thudded to a painful stop in her chest when she caught sight of Adrien standing in the corridor a few feet away, staring at her. It looked like he was waiting for her, and Marinette gulped before a voice behind her made her freeze.

"Just a sec, Marinette, I was hoping to have a quick word with you," Nina called, and Marinette, thankful for the diversion, turned around and closed the classroom door behind her again. She looked at Nina curiously as she sat down at Miss Bustier's desk, shifting the boxes out of her view.

Marinette shyly stepped further into the classroom, standing a few inches away from the desk, biting her lip nervously.

"I just wanted to check if you were okay after what happened today. I was hoping this class would be a positive experience for everyone. It's my first time teaching young students you see, and I feel like this was my fault." Nina furrowed her eyebrows in worry.

Marinette's head snapped up on shock. "Oh no, ma'am, it wasn't your fault, it's just Chloé has always had it in for me."

Nina nodded her head, looking down sadly. "I understand."

"But thank you for sticking up for me though. Not many people, even teachers, would have done that."

Nina smiled and waved a dismissive hand. "It was nothing. I'm used to her type."

Marinette nodded awkwardly, unable to think of anything to say.

"And I'm sorry that you didn't get to complete your design," Nina apologised before tilting her head slightly. "Although, with a face like yours, I'm sure you won't have to worry about designing. You could easily be a model for my company."

Marinette blushed before furiously shaking her head. "That's very kind of you to say ma'am, but I could never be a model. I much prefer working behind the scenes. I prefer the designing."

"Oh?" This seemed to intrigue Nina.

"I even won a competition that Gabriel Agreste held a few years ago," Marinette began to excitedly explain. "It's my dream to work for his brand."

Nina's eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" Nina then looked towards the door, before leaning forwards, closer to Marinette. "You have a face that seems trustworthy so I'm going to let you in on a little secret."

Marinette raised her eyebrow in confusion, but stepped forward slightly, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I would advise against working with Gabriel Agreste."

"Huh?"

"The man has no vision. He just takes credit for everybody else's designs; he merely just slaps his name on things. I, on the other hand, play an active role in my workforce. Despite my success, I still come up with my own unique designs and give credit to any people whose ideas make it into my brand," Nina explained, slightly smug.

"But…how could you have played an active role like you claim when you've been staying out of the spotlight for the last few years." Marinette clamped her hand over her mouth when she realised what she had just said.

 _Oh no_ , what would Nina think of her now? She had just questioned and insulted one of the most famous fashion designers in all of France! This day just kept on getting better and better for Marinette. However, much to Marinette's shock, Nina just laughed.

"You are a clever, observant girl." Nina let out one last chuckle before resting her elbows against the desk and clasping her hands together. "I just like to do a lot of travelling. It's how I get my best ideas. As a designer yourself, you should know how awful a creative block can be."

Marinette nodded, smiling slightly before opening her backpack and taking out her sketchbook and flicking through all of her latest designs.

"I've been on a role lately." Marinette smiled before it faltered slightly. "Though I just couldn't concentrate earlier after what Chloé did."

Nina reached her hand out. "Let's take a look then."

Nervously, Marinette slowly handed her sketchbook over. Nina seemed to all but snatch it off her as she immediately began flicking through, her eyes hungrily taking in all of the pencil and ink marks on the pages. A wide smile appeared on the woman's face as she appeared totally engrossed by what Marinette had produced.

Marinette fidgeted self-consciously as she watched Nina's face intently as her work was now on full display in front of a real, professional fashion designer. Marinette had always dreamed of this moment and thought it would be more exciting than this, however, now it was actually happening, her nerves swallowed her up. She had always been proud of her work, but now she couldn't help but wonder if it truly was decent work. Was Nina smiling because she liked it, or was she just trying not to laugh at how awful it was?

Marinette was starting to go crazy at how quiet Nina was being. Abruptly, her internal panic came to an end as she was startled by Nina closing her sketch book before she place it down on the desk, beaming up at her.

"My, you have such amazing talent," Nina gushed.

Marinette felt her face erupt into a red mask of embarrassment, and all she could do was let out a confused squeak.

"A talent that certainly shouldn't be working for the likes of _Gabriel Agreste_ ," she sneered his name. "You have a very promising talent that needs to be properly nurtured. You still have some improvements to do, but that can easily be solved with the proper training and trainer."

Marinette's stomach did a flip. Was Nina insinuating what she thought she was?

"I'm afraid I don't understand?" Marinette managed to gasp out, a nervous, yet excited knot forming in her chest. She clenched her hands into fists at her side and sucked on her lower lip nervously.

"Hmmm," Nina pondered, placing her finger under her chin, deep in thought, "you're probably too young for a proper internship, especially since you're still in full time education. So, how about I offer you a work experience placement?"

Instantly, Marinette felt like she had died and gone to heaven. There was no way that Marinette had heard what Nina had just said correctly. It was impossible.

"M-me? A w-work placement?"

Nina nodded. "I insist. I'd love to snatch up your talent before anyone else does. You have so much potential, and one day, I could make you a very famous fashion designer."

It felt like Marinette's heart stopped in her chest as she finally managed to register what Nina was telling her. It felt like all of her dreams were coming true! All that was missing was Adrien who would scoop her up into his arms and kiss her as they walked off into the sunset together.

This…this couldn't be real. Stuff like this only happened in fairy tales, and now Marinette was getting the opportunity to work for Nina. Her head drifted up to the clouds and everything began spinning around her, and before she knew it, her knees had buckled slightly under her.

"Whoa!" Nina managed to catch Marinette's arm, snapping her out of her daydream. "Are you okay?"

Marinette nodded enthusiastically before slamming her hands down on the desk in excitement. "Oh that would be totally awe –" She froze which caused Nina's smile to fall.

"What is it?"

"I better ask my parents first, I wouldn't want to do anything without talking to them first about it," Marinette admitted, rubbing her arm. "I hope you don't mind?"

Nina's eye twitched but seemed to manage to force a smile onto her face.

"I understand. We can worry about the paper work later, but for now," Nina said as she picked up her small leather hand bag, pulling out her purse before plucking a small business card from inside and handing it to Marinette, "here's my card with my number and the address of our headquarters."

Marinette's eyes widened in amazement at the beautiful card she held in her hand. The card was a cream colour with a golden border, with Nina's logo in the centre with all her details written in golden letters underneath. Sure enough, there was Nina's number. She couldn't believe it!

"Thank you," Marinette managed to gasp out before looking back up at her, "I promise I'll be in touch as soon as possible."

"I hope you will." Nina smiled. "I don't want a talent like yours going to waste."

Marinette beamed and carefully placed the business card in one of the back pockets of her backpack before grabbing her sketchbook and placing that back in her bag too. In the process, Marinette flicked some of her dark hair behind her ear, leaving her earrings on full display to the world. Unbeknownst to Marinette, Nina smirked when she caught sight of them, her eyes sparkling dangerously.

"Oh Marinette, what lovely earrings."

Marinette gasped, covering her ears with her loose strands of hair again. Standing up straight and smiling awkwardly, Marinette couldn't help but be a little unnerved, though she decide it was likely because she was just being protective over her miraculous.

"Erm, thank you," Marinette squeaked out.

"Did you make those yourself?" Nina's smirk didn't fade, and Marinette couldn't help but get the sense that she was being mocked or tested or something to that effect. Nina's tone and sudden change in aura meant that Marinette couldn't help but take an automatic step back.

"N-no, my…ummm…grandfather gave them to me." Marinette wanted to slap herself for how bad she was at lying. "But I do sometimes make my own jewellery," Marinette continued as she began slowly backing out of the room. "I better get going to my next class. It was nice talking to you though."

Marinette made the mistake of looking Nina in the eye. Once again, her blue eyes were intense as she smiled warmly at Marinette, who once again found herself unable to look away. There could be such a commanding and intimidating aura around Nina sometimes, and she definitely used her dazzling blue eyes to great effect. That thought made Marinette slightly nervous, however she forced down her instincts that were screaming at her to _run._ To run away and never set eyes on this woman again. However, her instincts had no basis for telling her to run from this kind woman who had offered her a once in a lifetime opportunity. After all, Marinette's instincts weren't exactly known for their track record. She had been wrong about Gabriel Agreste being Hawkmoth after all.

"It was nice talking to you too," Nina replied, "and don't forget to be in touch."

All Marinette could bring herself to do was nod as she finally backed out of the room, and she immediately felt lighter again once she was away from Nina's presence. Marinette sighed as she shook her head to snap herself out of the weird state she had got herself into again, allowing herself to become excited once again about what had just transpired.

Nina had offered her a placement! She would get to work with a real fashion designer! Marinette couldn't wait to tell her parents, confident that they would be thrilled at this amazing opportunity. But still, she wanted to talk to them about it out of courtesy.

However, Marinette's excitement was soon replaced with sadness as she once again remembered Chat Noir and what she would have to do tonight before she could talk to her parents. Perhaps, almost worse than that, Adrien had indeed looked like he wanted to speak with her. The thought caused Marinette to gulp.

Had she just blown her cover?

* * *

 **Well, this doesn't look good. Do you guys think Adrien has worked it out? What does he want to talk to her about? And who is Nina and what does she want? Let me know what you think.**


	10. In Another Life

**Welcome back everyone and I hope you've all had a lovely week. Thank you for the reviews and I also really can't thank you enough for how many people have once again favourited and followed this story. It's always inspiring to see how many people are reading and enjoying this story, so welcome to all those new people. This chapter was really hard to write for some reason, so I hope it's come out okay.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: In Another Life**

To say Marinette was nervous when she entered the library for study period would be an understatement. Her palms were starting to sweat, and her heart was thumping loudly in her chest, to the point where she could feel it echoing in her ears. Marinette knew that Adrien would be here somewhere, and she wondered if he still wanted to talk to her, like he seemed to while staring at her in the corridor.

Normally, Marinette would be absolutely ecstatic and over the moon at the thought of Adrien wanting to talk to her. She should be currently doing backflips of happiness, squealing in delight at the fact her crush wanted to talk to her. However, this was no normal situation. Undoubtedly, Marinette had a similar graze on her forehead to the one Adrien would have seen on Ladybug; he was the one who had helped her and cleaned it after all. Apart from Marinette, no one would know that mark better than Adrien. That thought made her gulp before she snapped out of her daze, realising she had been standing stock still by the library's entrance the entire time.

Looking around the library as best she could, despite the many book shelves blocking her vision, Marinette breathed a sigh of relief when she realised Adrien was nowhere in sight. She noticed Alya and Nino in the corner spending some time together, so Marinette decided it would be best to leave them alone, as much as she didn't want to. Maybe they would be the perfect cover to prevent Adrien from asking questions if he bumped into them there. Then again, Marinette remembered, they were present when he had begun quizzing her in class earlier. Plus, what if Adrien wasn't fazed by their presence? Then Nino and Alya could also start to get suspicious.

Marinette tugged at her hair in frustration. There just seemed to be no way of avoiding this without avoiding Adrien for eternity. And _that_ she certainly couldn't bear to do. Not to mention it would just make her look even more suspicious.

Marinette had no choice.

She just had to face whatever questions Adrien asked her.

After all, he had no proper proof other than a graze that no one else had witnessed. Marinette frowned and grit her teeth as she practically stormed towards an empty table in the corner of the library, as far from everybody else as possible. This was all Chloé's fault. If that spoilt brat hadn't thrown water all over her then she wouldn't be in this situation.

As she sat down on the wooden chair, Marinette kept her eyes peeled, subtly looking around the room as best she could for any sign of Adrien. There still didn't seem to be any, and Marinette bit her lip nervously as she grabbed her textbooks out of her bag, despite knowing that concentrating on work would be the last thing she would be able to do.

As her hands began shaking nervously at the whole situation, Marinette's open pencil case went flying out of her hand, loudly spilling her pencils and pens all over the floor. A few other students looked at her in annoyance, and Marinette waved her hand apologetically before letting out a frustrated huff as she bent down to pick them up.

She was just about to reach out and grab the last pen off the floor when another, larger hand quickly snatched it up before she did. Blue eyes travelled up the jean covered legs to the back t-shirt with coloured strips in the middle, finally meeting green eyes. Marinette couldn't help but freeze, hypnotised by his very presence. She even forgot what she was worried and scared about in the first place. The world around them seemed to melt away as she gazed dreamily into his eyes.

That was until she was snapped out of her love-struck state by the sight of Adrien's lips moving out of the corner of her eye. Oh no, he was talking to her. Shoot, Marinette hadn't been paying attention to what he was saying.

"Erm…what?" Marinette shook her head violently in an effort to clear it.

Adrien seemed slightly startled by her actions before his eyes once again caught sight of her now covered up graze before he looked back into her eyes.

"I said, do you need any help?" Adrien spoke slowly, seeming very cautious as he held out Marinette's pen.

Marinette took the pen, consciously making sure that their skin didn't touch, lest it send her into another dreamy and weird state that might send Adrien running for the hills, or get her sectioned or something. She offered him a shaky smile, putting everything back in her pencil case, trying hard not to look him in the eye. Her hands continued to shake slightly and Marinette prayed that Adrien wouldn't notice.

"It's okay," Marinette finally responded, trying her best to keep her voice even and neutrally polite, "I think that was the last one."

Just as she reached for some of the pens that had spilled onto her desk, Marinette elbowed her pile of textbooks off the desk, and much to her horror, some of the bigger, heavier ones landed on Adrien's foot, causing the famous model to yelp slightly.

"Sorry sorry sorry!" Marinette gasped, becoming flustered as she quickly bent down to reach for her books at the same time as Adrien. This time, the two of them ended up violently head-butting each other, and both of them abruptly shot up, clutching their heads in pain.

"Sorry sorry sorry!" Marinette cried out again before a few people in the library shushed her.

Adrien let out a chuckle, rubbing his head one last time before placing his hand back down. "It's fine. Man, you sure are clumsy."

Marinette's face might as well have been renamed the red sea in that moment.

Adrien then cautiously held out his hands before smirking at her. "You, don't move, I'll get these," he jokingly ordered.

"Oh no, it's okay," Marinette insisted beginning to bend down at the same time as him again.

Adrien jumped back just in time, struggling to keep his laughter as quiet as possible. Marinette gasped as he gently gripped her shoulders and pushed her back up. The electric shock his touch left on her shoulders travelled all the way down to her heart, instantly jump-starting it, making it beat as fast as if she had been running a huge marathon. Marinette felt her breath get caught in her throat as she struggled to get her lungs to re-start after having the breath knocked out her by the thought of him touching her. It was official. Marinette was now never washing _both_ shoulders of her jacket as opposed to just the one.

"Stay," Adrien instructed as he smiled and pointed a finger at her.

Marinette saluted, and she wanted to kick herself for how cheesy and awkward she was for doing that. Adrien didn't seem bothered by it though as he was finally able to safely bend down and pick up her books for her. He stood up straight again, his posture perfect from being a model all his life, before placing them back on her desk, causing Marinette to smile up at him.

"Thank you," she managed to get out without stuttering. "Sorry about, well – umm – everything."

Adrien chuckled again. "That's alright, but at least now you have a bump on your head to match your graze." He watched her reaction carefully.

"Errr, yeah," Marinette replied awkwardly, letting out a fake giggle.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Adrien asked, slightly pulling out the chair opposite her.

Marinette nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Oh, how she wished this was under better circumstances. Adrien offering to sit with her should have made her jump for joy, but instead a whirlpool of fear began to twist her stomach into knots. She quickly opened one of her books as a distraction just as Adrien sat down opposite her, dumping some of his books down on the desk.

Marinette could feel his gaze burning holes in the top of her head as she forced herself to stare down at her book. Her eyes followed the words on the page, however, she wasn't taking any of it in. Marinette tried her best to focus on anything that wasn't Adrien: the musty smell of the pages, the hushed talking of the other students in the library, the erratic beating of her heart, the hard wood of the table beneath the subconscious drumming of her fingers. All the while she could still feel Adrien's gaze on her.

"S-so," Adrien's stuttered, startling Marinette slightly, "been – err – a lot of akumas lately."

Marinette nodded, refusing to look at him.

"Let's just hope Ladybug will always be here to save the day."

This time Marinette couldn't prevent her head from abruptly snapping up to look at him. "And Chat Noir too," she found herself automatically correcting him.

Adrien's eyes widened slightly before his face quickly morphed back into a neutral expression. "So, you're a fan of Chat Noir, huh?" He seemed incredibly interested by this fact, the hint of a smirk tugging on his lips.

"Yeah." Marinette shrunk back in her seat slightly, forcing her eyes back down to her book before she hunched back over it. "He's pretty cool."

They remained in awkward silence for a few moments until Adrien cleared his throat.

"I bet that graze must have hurt."

"Why are you so interested in my graze?" Marinette asked innocently, calling his bluff.

Adrien seemed slightly taken aback before rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I-I just…I have a friend who has a similar looking injury."

Marinette had to prevent herself from gasping out loud. Her shaking became slightly more visible as her grip on her book tightened. He _was_ suspicious. Marinette wanted to smack herself for being so careless. She knew she needed to keep acting natural. As she had told herself earlier, this was the only proof he had, and it would be his word against hers. Out of everyone, she thought it would be Alya that she would have to watch out for the most in terms of exposing her true identity.

This was so awful. This could be putting the love of her life in terrible danger and all because of how reckless and careless she had been.

"I feel sorry for that friend then." Marinette forced out a slight laugh. "Though this really isn't as bad as it looks." She pointed to where her graze was.

Adrien looked down sadly. "I just hope my friend is okay."

Marinette did her best to smile reassuringly, despite the situation. It did touch her slightly that Adrien seemed to care so much for Ladybug's wellbeing. He was such a kind and caring person, and it made Marinette's heart flutter pleasantly as opposed to the fearful pounding she had become accustomed to for most of this morning. Adrien was so pure. So amazing… _snap out of it, Marinette!_

"I'm sure she's fine," Marinette said, her grip on her book becoming so tight, it felt like she might rip it.

"What makes you so sure?" Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I –" Marinette froze, her eye twitching slightly. "I just…know what it's like to have that type of injury." Yeah, that seemed reasonable enough to her. "So I know she'll be fine."

Adrien's suspicious eyebrow lowered slightly before he smiled warmly at her. "You're a really sweet girl, Marinette."

"I-I am?"

"You don't think so?" Adrien seemed slightly confused.

Marinette slowly shook her head, staring hard at the diagram in her textbook. Images of Chat Noir assaulted her mind. The sound of his voice desperately calling out for her as she ran away after she had kissed him echoed in her head. Each syllable of his words was a painful stab to the heart. What made Marinette hurt even more was the thought that that pain was nothing compared to how Chat must be feeling right now, especially after how much she had toyed with his feelings this week. First was the whole ordeal with Master Fu and her secrecy about him and now this. Marinette wouldn't be surprised if he never wanted anything to do with her again.

The thought of never seeing Chat Noir again sent an unimaginable pain, that of which Marinette had never experienced before, shooting through every cell in her body. _Whoa, what was that all about?_ Marinette questioned herself. The aftershock of such pain still rocketed through every inch of her being, and Marinette unconsciously placed her hand over her chest in a feeble attempt to halt the strange, painful feeling. She then became painfully aware of Adrien staring at her curiously, and this quickly brought her back down to reality.

"All I seem to do is hurt the people I care about lately," Marinette whispered before she could stop herself.

Adrien blinked, his green eyes watching her judiciously.

The bell finally rang, and Marinette quickly packed all of her things away and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She refused to look at Adrien, worried about what might happen if she did.

"I better get going, see you later Adrien," Marinette quickly said, unable to bring herself to notice or care over how she had managed to say a long coherent sentence to Adrien without stuttering or becoming flustered.

Her mood was now soured, terrified of the conversation she might have with Chat Noir later that night or the prospect of him not turning up at all. Both outcomes were equally petrifying. For once, she couldn't bring herself to talk to Adrien any longer. She just wanted to be left alone. At least this way, she couldn't hurt anyone else. She just hoped she'd done enough to throw Adrien off her scent.

"No, Marinette, wait!" Adrien called out just as Marinette dashed off in a scene that felt all too familiar to the both of them.

Despite the urge to momentarily freeze, Marinette forced herself to continue walking away. Adrien didn't care much for her anyway, so why would staying matter? The thought caused what felt like a crack to appear in her already fragile heart, but Marinette knew it was the truth. Adrien would likely forget their conversation. Why should it matter to him that she was hurting? One of Paris' most famous models likely wouldn't have time to care about her problems.

Luckily, she didn't bump into Adrien for the rest of the day as he had to leave around lunchtime for a photoshoot. She hid behind the wall of the stairs to the main entrance, watching him as he glumly got into the car and sped off. It made her wonder what had him so sad. He had been looking tired and worn out these past couple of days. Marinette cursed herself, thinking she should have made the effort to ask him what was bothering him today, however she was too concerned with preventing Adrien from putting two and two together.

The rest of the day was incredibly slow, as if time itself was mocking Marinette, creating an agonising suspense leading up to her possible talk with Chat Noir. Her eyes were glued to the clock at the front of the classroom all through last period.

 _Tick tock tick tock._

The clock echoed through the quiet classroom as everyone was forced to get on with their work. Marinette couldn't concentrate though. Her hands balled into fists on her desk and nerves bubbled about in her tummy as the excruciatingly long seconds ticked by.

Three…two…one…the final bell chimed at last, and Marinette wasted no time in packing her things away and dashing out of the door as soon as she could. She briskly walked home, knowing if she ran that she would trip and fall, and that was all she needed. Luckily, her parents were too busy in the bakery to say anything other than a quick hello to her, and Marinette made her way up to her room, safely sealing herself from the world when she closed her trap door behind her. She and Tikki didn't speak much. Marinette didn't mind though, and was grateful for Tikki allowing her some quiet time to think and calculate how she was going to approach things with Chat Noir.

What if he didn't turn up? Should she call him on her yo-yo and leave a message if he didn't answer? What should she say? What if he never wanted to see her again? And what would she do if he did turn up?

She knew she would need to provide Chat with an explanation, but she just couldn't think of anything valid. Her actions seemed to be nothing more than a spur of the moment slip of sanity, however, if she worded it like that, would it hurt Chat's feelings? There just seemed to be no way of doing this without hurting him in some way. Marinette was well and truly caught between a rock and a hard place. This was all her own doing too.

"Marinette, calm down, everything is going to be fine," Tikki's soothing voice interrupted her panic.

"I don't know what to say to him Tikki!" Marinette let out a cry of frustration before slamming her head down on her desk. Her stupid action hurt, but she couldn't bring herself to care in that moment. Marinette's brain was nothing but a pile of mush inside her head anyway.

"Just speak from the heart Marinette," Tikki explained, "you don't have to plan anything. That just adds too much pressure onto yourself. When you're in the situation, the words will come naturally to you."

"I don't want to hurt him," Marinette whispered, her eyes wide in horror.

Tikki sighed. "Sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest."

Marinette groaned, folding her arms across her desk and hiding her face in them.

"Is having feelings for Chat Noir such a bad thing?" Tikki asked.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Marinette mumbled.

Tikki frowned and floated down to tug on Marinette's exposed earlobe. "You might have been able to avoid a lot of things lately Marinette, but I will not let you avoid my question."

Marinette came out of her hiding place, glaring out of her bedroom window before flailing her arms wildly as she began to explain, "because…because it just won't be possible. I don't have feelings for Chat Noir; I love Adrien. I just got confused in the heat of the moment and my dreams messed with my head. It was my fault, I know, but that does not mean I have feelings for him. Besides, me and Chat…in a relationship? It just seems too weird. He's my best friend and nothing more."

Tikki sighed, settling on Marinette's shoulder as her face fell back into her arms. The closer and closer the time came for patrol, the tighter the knot in Marinette's stomach became. After her parents had called her for dinner, all she was able to do was pick at her food. Her parents had asked her if she was alright and Marinette managed to reassure them with the lie that her stomach was still feeling a little delicate after her illness the other day.

Thankfully, they seemed to believe her as they didn't force her to eat anything before taking her plate away to be washed. She helped them out as best she could before letting them know that she was heading to her room to do homework and would prefer it if she wasn't disturbed. Once her door was safely shut behind her, Marinette transformed and climbed up to her balcony before using her yo-yo to swing through the city, quickly arriving at their typical meeting place for when they patrolled together.

Taking a deep breath, Ladybug sat down on the tall roof and waited. The sky was clear, and the evening sun was warm against the exposed skin of her neck and face. Her blue eyes began scanning the view of the city in front of her, looking for any sign of a black attired superhero jumping over the city buildings towards her.

Nothing so far.

Ladybug sighed and began fiddling with her yo-yo, swinging it up and down just like a regular yo-yo. Her heart rate began to thump quicker and quicker the longer it took Chat Noir to get there. Maybe he had indeed decided not to come? The thought sent Ladybug into another panic, and the more time ticked on by, the more plausible that theory became.

He didn't want to see her.

Ladybug's head drooped in defeat, and tears welled up in her eyes as she stood up again and walked towards the edge of the roof. She was about to hook her yo-yo around the next building to fly off and start patrolling the city alone, when a voice behind her almost made her jump out of her skin.

"Running away again?" Chat Noir's voice was dull and lifeless behind her.

Ladybug slowly turned around to look at him. He was stood leaning against the chimney, his arms crossed over his chest as his green cat-like eyes gazed out into the city. His expression was tired, sullen and melancholic. His black leather cat ears drooped slightly, and his eyes were slightly narrowed.

"C-Chat?"

"You sound surprised to see me," Chat commented in a weary tone.

"I-I didn't think you were coming, I've been waiting a while," Ladybug replied, her heart in her mouth.

Chat shrugged apathetically. "I got held up."

Ladybug bit her lip, her stomach dropping to her feet at how depressed Chat was sounding.

"L-look Chat, I was hoping we could talk?"

He remained silent, his body tensing slightly.

"The…kiss…was a mistake."

Chat's head abruptly turned to glare at her. "A _mistake?_ "

Ladybug nodded. "And I'm really sorry."

"If it was such a mistake then why did you do it?" Chat snapped at her in a way that Ladybug had never heard before.

Ladybug felt herself take an automatic step back. "I…I don't know."

Chat strode towards her, causing Ladybug to back away, however, her attempts to put distance between them were thwarted by the roof coming to a sudden end, with nothing but a huge drop to the ground behind her. Chat extended his baton, reaching out to hook it behind her, pulling her shaking form away from the edge, and yanking her as close against his chest as possible.

Ladybug's breath caught in her throat as Chat boldly kept her pinned against him, his baton acting as a prison bar behind her, keeping her pressed tightly against his chest. Her heart skipped a beat, and her knees buckled slightly, though he easily held her weight as if she was light as a feather.

The fire Ladybug had felt inside her when they had kissed began to once again incinerate her insides, threatening to consume her. Her eyes automatically gravitated towards his lips, though this time, she forced herself to look away, staring down at Chat's chest instead, though Chat's eyes continued to burn into her head. Ladybug struggled against him, hoping to put distance between them once again, though Chat wouldn't budge.

"I don't believe that. _You_ kissed _me._ " Chat's voice was desperate. "You can't deny that what happened between us last night was something special and amazing."

"Let me go Chat," Ladybug ordered sternly, finally managing to glare up at him, purposefully ignoring what he had just said.

Chat glared back in astonishment, his grip tightening to a point where Ladybug could feel the metal of his baton digging into the small of her back.

"Not until you tell me the truth. I don't want you running away again," Chat begged before he smirked mischievously. "Do you not like being so close to me? Does it make you want to kiss me again?" He leaned in, tempting her slightly.

Ladybug's cheeks turned bright red, and her lips tingled at his invite.

 _Yes, oh yes, she wanted to._

Ladybug gulped as her desire screamed at her, begging her to just cave in and give Chat Noir what they both wanted in this moment. But Ladybug reminded herself that she was not in one of her weird dreams at this moment. It was arduous, but Ladybug managed to silence every cell in her body that was crying out for Chat. Was this what Tikki had meant? Because every force in existence seemed to be screaming and pushing with all its might for Ladybug to give in and collide her lips against his once again, to satisfy that hunger, that craving.

No!

Ladybug remembered what Tikki had said about being master of her own destiny. She could do this, and in time this strange subconscious obsession she had with Chat lately would disappear.

"No, Chat," Ladybug finally managed to bring herself to answer, and his face fell, his grip loosening slightly. "Now let me go."

Chat immediately released her, and Ladybug immediately put as much distance between them as possible. Chat's knees trembled slightly as his baton returned to its normal size before he hooked it around his belt again. Ladybug bit her lip and looked away guiltily before taking a deep breath to speak.

"I'm sorry, Chat, but I really don't think of you like that. I just got confused in the heat of the moment, that's all," Ladybug did her best to explain.

Chat Noir sighed. "No. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put so much pressure on you and crossed your personal boundaries. I had no right. I thought…I really thought you –"

"I'm so sorry." Ladybug tried to contain her tears over how heartbroken Chat sounded right now. It seemed she had been right. He did have a crush on her. And she had given him the ultimate case of mixed signals. He really thought that she liked him back. What had she done?

"No, it's okay," Chat tried to reassure her, "it's not your fault."

"Yes, it is. I kissed you and gave you the wrong idea, and that really wasn't fair of me." Ladybug then began playing with her fingers nervously. "You see, I like someone else."

Chat's eyes widened slightly. "You're dating someone? Oh Ladybug, I'm so sorry, if I had known, I –"

Ladybug smiled sadly and began shaking her head. "No, I'm not dating anyone, I just love this guy, though I doubt he likes me back."

Chat blinked incredulously. "Then he has to be the most stupid person on the planet."

Ladybug couldn't help but giggle. "But I am hopeful for the future. It's partially my fault, all I ever do is make a fool of myself in front of him. I'm not the most graceful person when I'm not in my superhero form."

Chat Noir's eye twitched and he froze slightly.

"Chat, are you alright?" Ladybug asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Y-yeah," he squeaked out his reply before unfreezing, suddenly unable to meet Ladybug's gaze.

"Once again, I really am sorry, Chat," she sighed out as she approached him.

Chat's head finally snapped back around to look at her, and he shrugged his shoulders, though Ladybug could tell he was still really hurt and upset. She wished with all of her heart that she could wave a magic wand and make all of this go away.

But she couldn't.

Maybe one day, Chat could move on and find a nice girl who was more deserving than she was. If it wasn't for Adrien, maybe she would give Chat Noir a chance. He was very handsome and a lovely person, the best partner she could have ever asked for.

What would that even be like? Would they reveal their identities, despite the danger? What did Chat look like beneath the dark mask? The visions were dancing before Ladybug before she could stop them. Her, meeting up with a tall blond boy in Paris, going to see a movie together, having dinner together, introducing each other to their parents, and when duty calls, side by side they would fight. But that was another universe, and with that thought, the visions slowly vanished before her like smoke being blown away in an evening breeze.

As she drifted back to reality from her deep thoughts, Chat Noir smiled at her, and they both reached out and laced their fingers together. Ladybug smiled sadly at him, and both of their eyes glistened slightly as they gazed at each other.

"Another lifetime perhaps," Ladybug said, and Chat nodded sadly.

"I will gladly die a thousand deaths if it meant in one of those lifetimes I could be with you, my lady."

The intensity of Chat's words made her gasp, and her grip on his fingers loosened. Chat loosened his grip too, letting her arm fall gently to her side as she continued to stare at him with wide eyes. However, her frozen thoughts were soon thawed out by Chat's playful expression.

"Race you to Notre Dame." He laughed loudly and took off without giving Ladybug a chance to collect her thoughts.

The young hero shook her head, clearing her confused thoughts away before she giggled and took off after her silly kitty.

* * *

 **Just as a pre-warning, my updating might be a little sporadic over the next two weeks. I have a ton of assignments due in at the same time, go figure. So, I'm not 100% sure if I'll have enough time to write as much as I normally do. I'll try my best, but I hope you can be patient with me over these next two weeks. Once I get this clump of work done, updating should definitely go back to normal.**

 **As always, feel free to leave a review, it really helps me out to know what you guys think and I'll hopefully see you again soon.**


	11. Strange Coincidences

**Oh ma gawd, you guys went wild over the last chapter. Your reviews were so amazing to read, thank you so much. Now here's a chapter a few of you seem to be dying for, you're welcome ^_^ I decided to update a day earlier than normal seen as you guys gave me a lot of amazing feedback on that last chapter, plus I'm gonna be pushed for time tomorrow. So, here ya go.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Strange Coincidences**

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no, it can't be." Adrien paced his bedroom just as the sun set. He continually combed his fingers through his blond hair, tugging at the strands as his green eyes remained wide with fear.

Adrien had been doing this none stop since he got back from patrol with Ladybug. The young hero had never felt so many conflicting emotions at once. It was becoming too much to bear. When he had returned home, he had planned on breaking down about how right he was that Ladybug did not love him in return. She had referred to the kiss as a mistake, and that small word tore through his heart like Ladybug had just stabbed him in the chest.

He had played it cool in front of her as best as he could, as he didn't want her blaming herself for her lack of feelings for him; it wasn't her fault. Though maybe things would have been easier if she hadn't kissed him and confused him. However, she had now made it quite clear. She was in love with somebody else. And Adrien had to respect that as much as it pained him. Ladybug's happiness was the most important thing to him.

Despite wanting to break down over what had just transpired between them though, Adrien's brain seemed to have other ideas when he had returned to the seclusion of his large room. Everything that had happened previously in the day bombarded his mind. Every memory was like a fierce punch to the inside of his skull.

The mark on Marinette's forehead. The same mark Ladybug had received when she smacked her head against his floor a few days ago. Could…could _Marinette_ be Ladybug?

Adrien had recognised the graze on Marinette's head almost immediately, as soon as the make-up had begun running off her face. What made it even more suspicious was that Marinette had decided to cover the mark. Why would she feel the need to hide it? His clumsy classmate was often walking into school with bumps and scrapes and it had never seemed to bother her before. What made this time do different?

Unless she was worried he would recognise the mark.

That would be such a typical Ladybug thing to do; she was always on the ball with protecting her identity. If she had received an injury in her superhero form, then she would undoubtedly cover it up in her civilian form; Ladybug was very clever and careful like that. Except this time, Chloé had unwittingly exposed her.

Adrien had tried to hold a conversation with Marinette today to try and fish around a little bit, to see if she would slip up again. He needed more proof; a definite confirmation. However, Marinette had been very allusive, and Adrien didn't know whether to regard that as suspicious behaviour or not. Marinette was well known for her strange, erratic and awkward behaviour so reading her was difficult.

What confused him though, was that she was never really like this as much when she spoke with him when he was Chat Noir. It was just when he was Adrien. Did this mean…Marinette still hated him after all this time due to the chewing gum incident? Was that why she stuttered and was awkward around him? Because she secretly hated him but was just trying to be polite? That thought stung Adrien more than he cared to admit for some reason.

"Kid, if you don't stop pacing, I'm gonna gnaw your legs off," Plagg hissed from his curled-up position on Adrien's pillow. The little cat kwami was currently stuffing himself with camembert, occasionally glaring in Adrien's direction as his holder continued to annoyingly pace, practically tearing his hair out.

"Plagg, Marinette had the exact same mark on her head as Ladybug!" Adrien gasped out, his pacing getting faster.

Plagg merely rolled his eyes as he scoffed another block of cheese.

"I mean, I just don't understand how that could be possible!" Adrien babbled. "Could it really just be a coincidence? Am I just going crazy?"

"Will you calm down?!" Plagg yelled. "Sheesh, now you're making me all angsty. You're being way too melodramatic over this whole thing."

"Plagg, is Marinette Ladybug?" Adrien dashed over and fell to his knees next to his bed, his green eyes desperate begging Plagg for answers, for the world to make sense again.

Plagg remained silent for a few seconds, tensing as he tried to contain his laughter. "Come on kid, you know I can't answer that question, so it's futile to ask me."

"But why though? As far as I know, it's only Ladybug who's concerned about keeping identities a secret."

"Exactly!" Plagg frowned. "Her kwami told me to keep quiet, so there's nothing I can do. She'll kill me!"

"I thought you were immortal?" Adrien questioned.

"That doesn't mean Tikki's wrath doesn't terrify me," Plagg quivered before swallowing another block of cheese whole.

"Tikki? Is that the name of Ladybug's kwami?" Adrien smiled, pleased he was finally able to get some information out of Plagg.

Plagg froze before gulping. "Ugh, me and my big mouth."

"But you do know who Ladybug is, don't you? You can tell me that much at least?" Adrien begged, clasping his hands together on his sheets.

The little kwami said nothing, refusing to look at Adrien as he glared off into the distance. Adrien watched him carefully, and it was clear from Plagg's body language that he knew exactly who Ladybug was. All Adrien needed was the verbal confirmation.

However, seconds ticked by and Plagg still hadn't said anything, causing Adrien to start to grow increasingly frustrated. Surely, Plagg could get away with answering that question at the very least? What was so scary about Tikki that had Plagg of all creatures afraid to put his holder's mind at ease? Though ease might be the wrong word. He wasn't sure how he would react if it turned out he was right.

If…if Ladybug had been so close to him all this time, literally right under his nose, sitting behind him in class, hanging out in her room with her when they were practicing for the gaming tournament, his best friend dating her best friend…the girl who possibly still loathed him after his first day of school. Adrien shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"You do," Adrien answered for him.

There were a few moments of heavy silence. Plagg lifted his head up to say something, however, he was abruptly interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. The little black kwami quickly hid in Adrien's shirt just as the door handle on his bedroom was pushed down. Gabriel Agreste marched in, his hands clasped behind his back. His grey eyes caught site of the small cheese stash on his son's pillow to which Gabriel raised an eyebrow at Adrien. All Adrien could do was shrug in response and thankfully, Gabriel didn't question it further.

"You are not practicing your piano like you promised," Gabriel stated, his grey eyes were cold as steel as they regarded his only son.

"I was busy doing homework," Adrien lied, "due to the photoshoot going on for longer than planned, it's given me less time this evening."

Gabriel frowned. "And this was just another reason I was so against you attending school."

"I'm handling it, father," Adrien quickly replied to try and stop that argument in its tracks before it could begin.

Any opportunity to try and convinced Adrien to go back to home-schooling, Gabriel seized it and clung on with everything he had. It was lucky that Adrien could be just as stubborn as his father. This argument was a battle of wits that neither of them enjoyed.

Gabriel then turned away, beginning to walk back out of the room. "Well, I expect you to start practicing now. You cannot afford to fall behind."

"Father, wait," Adrien pleaded just as his father reached his doorway.

Gabriel froze, but otherwise did not turn to face his son, merely waiting for whatever it was that Adrien had to say. Adrien bit his lip, trying to find the right way to bring this topic up, knowing how secretive and allusive his father could be.

"Why have you never mentioned Nina Couture?" Adrien decided he should just come out and say it. It was no use beating around the bush as his father would only get annoyed and leave.

However, what Adrien was not expecting was for his father to completely tense and freeze up. Every muscle in Gabriel's body seemed to clench tightly as if braced for some sort of impact that was not coming his way. Adrien had never seen his father do such a thing. He was always so calm and collected, only speaking to others sternly at most.

"Where did you hear about her?" Gabriel's voice was flat, not giving anything away.

Adrien frowned, deciding it would be best for some reason to not tell his father that she had been at his school, so he came up with the best half-lie that he could. "My friends at school were just reading a magazine article about her today, and they mentioned that you were rivals in the industry, though, I've never heard of her."

Gabriel remained silent. His posture had not relaxed an inch, and Adrien watched as his father's hands clenched into tight fists, the veins on the back of his hands popping out.

"We… _were_ rivals, yes, until she left to go travelling," Gabriel hissed out.

"Did you really hate each other, or was it all just publicity?"

Gabriel let out a low growl. "I despise every cell in that woman's body."

Adrien was taken aback. "Why? What happened?"

Gabriel then turned around and there was an intense fire in his eyes that Adrien had never seen before. His father looked thoroughly repulsed at the topic of conversation, and Adrien found himself taking a step back, slightly intimidated by the look in his father's eyes.

"It is none of your concern, and you will do well to not have anything to do with anything even relating to her, do I make myself clear?" Gabriel's sharp voice rose slightly.

"But I –"

"I said," Gabriel interrupted him, glaring at his son, "do I make myself clear?"

Adrien sighed and looked down obediently. "Yes, father."

Gabriel then regarded him suspiciously. "She's not…back in Paris…is she?"

Adrien froze and gulped, not knowing whether to lie or tell the truth. Unfortunately, his father had already seen right through him. Gabriel pressed his lips into a tight thin line and inhaled deeply through his nose. All Adrien could do was look away awkwardly, wishing that he knew what was going on and who this woman was to spark such a reaction out of his father.

His father didn't like a lot of people, but something about this woman seemed to create a hatred in his father that Adrien had never witnessed before, and he wanted to know why. He hated being so in the dark about everything. No one around him seemed to ever inform him of what was going on and it was really started to frustrate him.

What could Nina have done that made Gabriel hate her so much? In class that morning she had seemed like such a lovely woman. A little bit odd and hot tempered, but sweet nonetheless. Especially to Marinette when Chloé had poured water all over her – all over Ladybug.

Adrien felt his whole ribcage tighten as it felt like someone had just reached their hand inside his chest and begun squeezing his heart as hard as they could. The sensation almost had Adrien gasping for air.

"I see." Gabriel frowned. "I shall speak with you tomorrow."

And with that, Gabriel stormed out, slamming Adrien's door behind him, leaving Adrien startled and confused.

"What just happened?" Adrien asked out loud, rubbing the back of his head.

Plagg's head popped out from his shirt pocket.

"No clue, but man, your dad does not seem to like that Nina woman one bit." Plagg chuckled.

Adrien sighed and rolled his eyes. "My father doesn't like anyone."

Adrien then moved over to sit on his bed and placed his head in his hands in the hopes of containing the millions of thoughts that were bouncing around. No such luck though. He was on the verge of giving himself a headache with the rapid visions that kept appearing before him. Marinette's face blurring into Ladybug's, her strange behaviour lately…the feel of her soft lips against his.

That thought caused his heart to tighten painfully in his chest and a lump formed in his throat as he tried to fight back tears. _Mistake, mistake, mistake, mistake._ That one word, uttered from the lips of the love of his life, would not stop echoing around in his mind. Adrien gripped his golden locks tightly, lowering his head to the point it was almost between his knees. He wanted to shout. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hit something…anything!

His lady loved another.

Despite wanting her to be nothing but happy, it did not stop the roaring jealously deep inside him. Who was this boy who had managed to steal her heart? Ladybug said she was pretty sure that he didn't return her feelings. How could that boy not realise how lucky he was? To have captured the heart of such an exquisite girl that was Ladybug. Adrien could only dream of accomplishing such a richly rewarding task.

He wanted to hunt this boy down for making his lady so sad by not returning her feelings. Marinette had admitted to him as Chat Noir that she liked someone, though sadly she did not go into who it was – more proof that Marinette could be Ladybug. But yet…Marinette was so unlike Ladybug at the same time.

Maybe Marinette wasn't Ladybug after all. Now that he thought about it, as similar as the two looked, they were quite different in personality. Ladybug was graceful and elegant, while Marinette was awkward and clumsy. But wait…hadn't Ladybug said she wasn't the most graceful she wasn't in her superhero form? The fact that Marinette had a similar graze to Ladybug could just be a coincident…albeit a very remarkable coincidence.

 _Ack,_ Adrien was so confused, it was driving him beyond crazy!

"I don't know what to do Plagg," Adrien mumbled.

"What are you talking about now?" Plagg asked with his mouthful, a few crumbs of cheese splattered on Adrien's arm which he sat up to brush off.

"Ladybug of course!" Adrien stated as if it was obvious. "Could she have been right under my nose the whole time? I would have thought my love for her would have been powerful enough to recognise her, even out of costume."

"Yuck!" Plagg gagged. "Have you been watching those disgusting human romance shows? You're putting me off my cheese!"

Adrien sighed before dramatically dropping back down again, laying down in the middle of his bed, his arms spread out beside him. Plagg rolled his eyes at how melodramatic his holder was being before slowly placing the piece of cheese he was holding down. He then reached out in a rare display of affection to tap Adrien's finger in comfort.

"I hate to break it to you kid, but this is reality," Plagg said. "I know you've kinda been sheltered most of your life, but life never turns out like those TV shows and anime you watch."

Adrien frowned, the face of his mother popping into his head. "Trust me Plagg, _I know_."

"But the fact you thought you'd just be able to sense Ladybug in her civilian form is ludicrous," Plagg sighed out. "You've got to pay attention. Spot similarities and get to know people. If you think Marinette is Ladybug," Plagg said as he tried to contain his snigger, "then try getting to know her."

"That's it!" Adrien abruptly shot up. "Plagg, you're a genius! I just need to spy on her!"

"Whoa, wait, I never said _that_!" Plagg exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"That way I can gather more evidence." Adrien began pacing again, deep in thought and seemingly not noticing Plagg's spluttering protests. "Obviously the graze isn't enough to conclusively prove that Marinette is Ladybug, and Marinette had a pretty valid excuse. I need more proof. I can spy on her as both Chat Noir and as Adrien, then maybe I can figure this whole thing out. Of course, I can't mention anything to Ladybug, she'll just freak out."

"Jeeze kid, obsessed much?" Plagg laughed loudly, clutching his belly.

"I'm not obsessed!"

"Marinette's all you've been talking about all day. After everything that happened with Ladybug, I was fully prepared for an ear-full about her, but nope – _Marinette this, Marinette that,_ " Plagg mocked, "it's almost as if you liiiiikkkeee her." He began making exaggerated kissing noises.

Adrien's face turned bright red. "I do not! I'm just doing a little investigating into whether she might be Ladybug."

"And if she is?" Plagg smirked.

Adrien froze. In all honesty, he hadn't really thought that far ahead. One of his first ever friends could be the love of his life. Adrien only liked Marinette as a friend, despite what Plagg's teasing suggested, so then what would that do to his feelings towards her if she was Ladybug? Ladybug and Marinette were so similar yet so dissimilar at the same time.

Adrien then got a sinking feeling deep within his stomach as the repercussions of the situation dawned on him. And what if she wasn't Ladybug? Weirdly, Adrien felt slightly disappointed by that thought, and it spooked him. It felt like both his head and his heart were all over the place at the moment. This was going to get confusing and draining really quickly. But it had to be done. Adrien needed to know the truth now that the seed of Ladybug's true identity had been planted in his head.

"This is going to be hilarious." Plagg erupted into another laughing fit and Adrien glared at him.

"I'm glad _you_ think it's funny," Adrien growled out. "Now eat up, we have a little spying mission to go on."

Plagg slowly shook his head as he scoffed down the last piece of his cheese. "You're playing a seriously dangerous game Adrien."

Adrien was slightly startled by Plagg's sudden seriousness before he shook his head in denial. "Maybe…but this is something that has to be done. Plagg, claws out!"

Plagg let out an annoyed sigh, but otherwise did not protest the transformation like Adrien thought he would. In a burst of green light, Chat Noir soon stood poised and ready, clad in black leather. He quickly unhooked his baton from his belt and launched himself out of his bedroom window, and in his haste, he was unaware of the narrowed grey eyes watching him from a window one floor below him.

Chat easily glided through the city, and soon the Dupain-Cheng bakery came into view. It was starting to get late, and it looked like only one light was glowing inside the house on the top floor: Marinette's room. Would she even still be awake?

Chat began to feel slightly nervous about what he was doing when he quietly landed on all fours on the roof. His cat-like night vision ability allowed him to easily spot Marinette curled up on her deck chair staring into space and fiddling with something small and thin in her hand. He wondered what was on her mind at that moment. She had been so upset lately. Was she thinking about that boy she liked?

That thought caused a low growl to rumble deep in Chat's chest, the sound of it startling himself, and in the process of jumping at his sudden, weird behaviour, his foot slipped, knocking a roof tile which smashed loudly on Marinette's balcony, narrowly missing her.

Marinette yelped, jumping out of her seat and looking up at her roof, though Chat's silhouette was mainly hidden by the darkness surrounding him. Marinette glared in his general direction though, which startled him slightly. Wasn't she afraid? He thought anyone else would be. Much to his further surprise, she tensed slightly into an almost fighting position. He never knew Marinette could be so brave and feisty…could that be further evidence?

"Who's there?" Marinette demanded, and Chat didn't know what to do.

He started to realise how weird and possibly borderline creepy he was being. He was supposed to be spying on her right now in secret to try and catch her talking to a kwami or something like that, but she clearly knew that something or someone was on her roof.

"If you're some sort of creepy burglar, then you have no idea who you're dealing with," Marinette threatened which caused Chat to gasp in shock.

This made him lose his footing again, this time sending himself crashing down onto Marinette's balcony. He landed clumsily and awkwardly on the back of his neck, his head pounded slightly as it made contact with the ground. His legs stuck in the air, and Chat then looked at a now shocked looking upside down Marinette.

"Chat!" she gasped, looking completely perplexed and concerned.

"I guess you could say I fell for you." Chat chuckled, kicking his legs up to do a front flip to right himself again. He wasn't going to deny that he did that to show off slightly, though his smug smirk quickly fell when Marinette ran over to him looking panicked.

"Whoa, hey princess, what's up?" he asked as she grabbed hold of his arm to pull him down to her level. She began running her fingers through his hair, biting her lip in concentration. Chat struggled to contain his urge to purr at how amazing her fingers felt in his hair. However, the urge stopped itself when her fingers made contact with something incredibly sore on the back of his head.

"OUCH!" Chat yelled, jumping away from her and clutching the spot that was hurting on the back of his head.

Marinette sighed. "I need to have a look Chat, that felt like a pretty nasty bump."

"Since when are you a nurse?" Chat quizzed, chuckling slightly as the pain from Marinette's touch went away.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I'm not, I just want to make sure you don't need an actual nurse, silly Kitty."

"Oh, I don't know, I think you'd look quite good in a nurse outfit." Chat winked cheekily and couldn't help but feel slightly smug and amused when Marinette's face seemed to instantly turn a deep shade of red. Her eye twitched slightly, and then Chat couldn't contain himself, bursting into a huge fit of laughter. Marinette huffed and pouted, and Chat couldn't help but think how adorable she looked when her bottom lip stuck out like that. A thought in which he quickly mentally slapped himself over.

"Relax, Marinette," Chat managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter, "I was only joking."

"Nurse my sides." Marinette muttered sarcastically, jokingly sulking as she crossed her arms over her chest, still pouting adorably.

Chat stopped laughing to stare at Marinette in an excited state of shock. "Did…did you just make a pun?" He then went back to laughing.

"No!" Marinette instantly denied before looking away in effort to hide the smirk forming on her face. "Maybe. It was an accident."

"Uh huh, sure," Chat teased, "but seriously princess, my head is fine, just a little tender."

Marinette visibly relaxed a little before sighing and leaning against the metal railings. "Not to be rude Chat, but what exactly are you doing here?"

"I…" Chat froze, his green eyes widening in fear slightly as he tried to think of a good lie. "I was just in the neighbourhood and thought I'd check you on. You seemed pretty upset last time."

Marinette stared at him for a moment before smiling slightly, and Chat relaxed as she seemed to believe his lie. He was starting to feel incredibly guilty over the whole thing. He was treating Marinette like she was some sort of criminal he was staking out. She was just a sweet girl minding her own business and likely didn't need him spying on her and invading her privacy; especially if it turned out she wasn't Ladybug after all.

The sight of her leaning against the railing, so small and vulnerable, had him doubting that fact though. Her posture was awkward, tense and uneasy, no hint of the self-assurance and determination that Ladybug displayed.

"How about you?" Marinette's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "You were pretty upset last time. Did you manage to patch things up with Ladybug?"

Chat couldn't help but raise a suspicious eyebrow at her. Was she asking because she was genuinely curious and didn't know, or was she just trying to maintain her cover by pretending to not know what happened? Chat thought he better choose his answer carefully to be prepared for either scenario being possible. If Marinette was Ladybug, she was pretty good at playing dumb, he'll give her that.

"I guess you could say that," Chat admitted at last, and Marinette let out a hum of curiosity, prompting him to continue. "I don't really want to talk about it."

Marinette seemed incredibly bothered by that and almost…guilty? Chat wasn't quite sure. He decided it would be best to change the subject. He was supposed to be finding out more about Marinette, not the other way around. Talking to each other seemed easier when he was Chat Noir. She seemed slightly more comfortable around him like this; at least she could get her sentences out coherently.

"So, how are things with you?" Chat asked, sitting down cross legged on one of her chairs.

Marinette joined him, sitting next to him and looking down sadly. This caused his ears to droop slightly seeing her looking so sad. At the moment, it looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and Chat felt the urge to do everything in his power to put a smile on her beautiful face.

That thought made Chat freeze. Now that he really looked at her, Marinette was a really pretty, cute girl. The cute freckles on her nose really reminded him a lot of Ladybug, along with her intense blue eyes that could ensnare anyone who looked into them. The graze on her head sadly wasn't visible which meant Chat unfortunately wouldn't be able to ask her about it without arousing suspicious.

Marinette then shrugged. "Same old same old, I guess."

"No luck with this boy of yours?" he prompted, hoping to dig for information.

Marinette shook her head, her eyes glistening slightly as she stared up at the full moon. "No. If anything I think I just made myself look like even more of a dorkasaurus around him."

" _Dorkasaurus?_ " Chat chuckled lightly.

Marinette ignored him. "He actually came to talk to me today and I blew it by being all weird on him."

Chat sighed sympathetically. "Marinette,I doubt he thinks you're weird."

"And how would you know?"

"Because I don't think you're weird," he explained, "You're…endearing."

"Which is just the nice way of saying someone's weird," Marinette huffed, bringing her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees.

"Is being weird such a bad thing? If you want this guy to like you, you should just be yourself; weird tendencies and all." Chat smiled encouragingly. "Maybe you should try talking to him more."

Frowning, Marinette straightened out again before staring down at the floor deep in thought. "I tried that though, it gets me nowhere."

Chat Noir then reached out and gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Marinette jumped slightly at his touch but relaxed when he began rubbing soothing circles into her shoulder, making Chat smile.

"Well even if it doesn't work out, you'll always be _my_ princess."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I bet you say that to all the girls in Paris."

Chat frowned. Did Marinette really think of him like that? A flirting womanizer? That stung a little bit, but then again, his behaviour didn't exactly do anything to disprove those thoughts. He just had too much fun enjoying the freedom that being Chat Noir gave him. He got to talk to so many different people for the first time in his life and couldn't resist jokingly flirting with different girls. It was the first time in his life he had ever received attention, affection and adoration that hadn't been from just his mother. He had no idea that it made him come across as some sort of lecherous playboy.

"No, I don't actually," Chat corrected her. "Just you."

"Not even Ladybug?"

Marinette's question stunned him to silence before he finally whispered his answer. "No."

For whatever reason, his answer caused a small smile to appear on Marinette's face, and she shuffled closer to him in her seat, their arms almost touching. Chat Noir then caught site of the object in her hand that she had been fiddling with prior to him nearly falling on top of her.

"What's that?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, a business card that Nina Couture gave me," Marinette responded, looking down at it and moving it around slightly so the golden letters shone slightly in the moonlight.

"The famous fashion designer?"

"Yeah, she's offered me a work placement."

"That's fantastic," Chat praised, knowing how talented Marinette was.

Though he couldn't deny that he was slightly uneasy about her being in such close quarters with Nina. She had given him strange vibes today, and he was even more cautious about her now after what had happened with his father earlier. He would definitely have to keep an eye on Marinette now, just to be safe.

"I just need to discuss it with my parents though, I didn't have time to talk to them about it tonight."

That caught Chat's interest and he was suspicious again. "Why, what happened tonight?"

"Fancy some stargazing again?" Marinette offered as if Chat hadn't said anything.

With his secret mission quickly forgotten, Chat couldn't help but indulge in whatever his princess wanted. They picked up where they had left off a few nights before, making up stories for the different constellations they created. Much like last time, Marinette soon fell asleep, though this time, she slumped so that she was lying in Chat's lap. His heart couldn't help but melt at the sight of her sleeping curled up, her delicate head resting on his thigh.

Chat wished that he didn't have to move and disturb her. It seemed impossible, but she was even cuter when she was asleep. Marinette certainly was an interesting girl, he thought to himself, as memories of the two past nights he had spent with her swirled around in his head. Chat then gazed at her curiously as he was sucked deeper and deeper into his thoughts. Maybe there was some truth to what Plagg had been saying. Maybe he did like Marinette a little more than he cared to admit. She was funny, smart, beautiful and interesting.

Marinette sighed in her sleep, snapping him out of his daydreaming, and he instantly banished those previous thoughts. Much to his dismay, he knew she probably wouldn't sleep comfortably in his lap like this, so, being as gentle as possible, he carefully picked her up bridal style. He slipped them both through her trapdoor before placing her down on her bed and tucking her in as best as he could without waking her.

He was just about to leave when a small hand suddenly reached out and gripped his arm tightly. Chat turned back to Marinette in shock, worried that he had woken her, but her eyes were still tightly closed, though a slight frown had formed on her face.

"Chat…" she whispered, and Chat stared at her, so sure that she had woken, though her closed eyes said otherwise.

"Don't leave me…" Her voice trailed off, and Chat's eyes widened.

She was talking in her sleep. She was dreaming about him?!

Marinette then seemed to relax again, letting go of his arm and smiling softly in her sleep before turning over. Chat couldn't help but smile as well, his heart pounding in his chest. He then couldn't resist leaning down and placing a gentle and totally platonic kiss on her temple as she slept peacefully.

"Sweet dreams, princess," Chat whispered to her before leaping out of her room as quietly as possible, leaving the exhausted girl to sleep in peace.

* * *

 **I'm running on three hours of sleep and have been working on an assignment all day as well as this chapter and now I think I'm actually starting to hallucinate. So I'm sorry if there's a few more mistakes than normal, I tried my best despite my state. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always, let me know what you think. Hopefully I'll see you soon, depending on how things go.**


	12. Night Terror

**I've been snowed in this week so luckily it gave me time to write. Thank you for reviewing the last chapter and for following this story and favouriting it. I promise I've had more than three hours of sleep this time.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Night Terror**

Ladybug laughed joyfully as she flew between the buildings of Paris, adrenaline pumping through her veins causing pleasant butterflies in her stomach. Once again, the city was dark, quiet and peaceful. Not a soul was in sight and all the lights were off, revealing the brilliant glowing stars above. They twinkled beautifully, and Ladybug marvelled at the sight as she continued to swing her yo-yo, hooking it from one building the next.

The breeze felt wonderful against the exposed skin of her face, and her hair blew widely around her as she flew faster and faster and faster. Ladybug had never felt such exhilarating ecstasy. The city was all hers once again. All hers.

Finally coming to a gentle stop on the roof of a tall building, Ladybug looked down at her yo-yo. With the power of creation, she could shape this city in any way she wanted. She could shape France in any way she wanted. The whole world in any way she wanted. She could stop all injustice and suffering, make right what is wrong and bring order to chaos. That was her job as Ladybug.

A sudden shooting pain travelled up her back, causing Ladybug to gasp. Her insides suddenly felt like they were on fire, despite what felt like something cold and metal piercing her flesh. Ladybug's spine was screaming as all feeling below her waist disappeared, her legs caved beneath her, and soon, Ladybug found herself collapsing in a heap on the roof, her eyes unblinking as she stared up at the stars that continued to twinkle down at her as if nothing had happened.

A thick, warm liquid began to soak her suit, and her heart thudded erratically as she struggled to comprehend what was going on. She couldn't move. Why couldn't she move? Though the pain was burning, searing and unbearable, she found herself unable to scream. Her voice lost in the vast sea of pain and confusion.

A familiar, comforting face appeared in her line of sight. His green cat-like eyes looked dull and lifeless as they stared down at her. Chat Noir stood over her, watching and unmoving. Ladybug wanted to scream at him to help her, to tell her what was going on.

Ladybug then felt something drip on her. At last she managed to move her eyes, following Chat's form down only to realise he was holding something in his hand. A knife. A blood covered knife that was dripping the red liquid onto her chest as he stood over her.

 _Her_ blood.

The urge to scream was thwarted by her paralysed state. What had Chat done?! Why had he done this to her?! All her tear filled blue eyes could do were widen as Chat leaned down. His breath tickled her cheek as he leaned his lips close to her ear.

" _Marinette,"_ he whispered as Ladybug's eyes began to close against her will, her last vision being of the twinkling stars above her as Chat continued to whisper her name in her ear.

" _Marinette."_

" _Marinette."_

" _MARINETTE!"_

"MARINETTE!"

"GAH!" Marinette screamed as she shot upright in her bed.

The familiar walls of her bedroom immediately sent waves of relief crashing through her body. However, Marinette's breathing was still laboured and panicked. She was drenched in sweat, strands of her wild dark hair were sticking to her face as Marinette clutched her chest to try and slow down her rapidly beating heart. Visions from her nightmare still danced before her, and Marinette quickly looked down at her torso.

No blood.

Her arms snapped around, feeling up and down her back as best as she could, the ghost of the knife still feeling like it was stabbing into her. There was nothing there though.

Marinette finally relaxed her arms and let out a deep breath to try and calm herself down some more.

"Marinette, you're finally awake." Tikki's voice came from next to her, and the little kwami let out a sigh of relief before moving to hover in front of a distressed Marinette's face.

"Morning Tikki." Marinette forced a smile before yawning and stretching in an attempt act nonchalant.

She just wanted to pretend that scary nightmare never happened. She had never had such a gory dream like that before. Though Marinette tried to find some silver lining, in that for once, the dream didn't involve her kissing Chat Noir.

 _Just him murdering her._

Marinette's eye twitched at the thought. Creepy.

"It's almost afternoon," Tikki explained, "it's already eleven thirty."

"What?!" Marinette exclaimed jumping out of bed as fast as she could to get dressed.

"Why didn't my parents come get me up?"

"It's Saturday, Marinette. Plus, you needed the rest."

Marinette paused, her shirt half-way on her body as she stared at Tikki in confusion. "So why did you wake me up then?"

Tikki suddenly looked very concerned. "You were crying out in your sleep Marinette; tossing and turning like you were having a bad nightmare. I was worried."

Marinette chuckled nervously. "Yeah, well, I'm fine, no need to worry."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tikki offered, and Marinette shook her head.

"It was just a stupid dream, Tikki. It doesn't mean anything."

Marinette finished getting ready for the day while trying to ignore Tikki's annoying concerned stares. Thankfully though, her kwami did not press the matter further. Marinette was getting tired of these strange dreams, and now it seemed they had taken an alarming turn. The young hero wasn't sure which ones she preferred: the ones in which she kissed her partner or the ones in which her partner killed her.

Both were equally terrifying to her.

Even though she kept trying to tell herself that they were just dreams, Marinette couldn't help but be bothered by them. She was never one to have nightmares, or even one to dream at all most nights. That's what made this past week even stranger. The fact that Tikki explained why she might be having the dreams in which she kissed Chat Noir did nothing to soothe her. That explanation now certainly didn't explain why now in her dreams, Chat was after her blood. It was safe to say that Marinette was officially spooked.

Once she was all sorted and ready, Marinette headed downstairs with Tikki staying safely out of sight in her room. Her mother was sat taking a break on the couch watching the news, and she turned around and smiled as her daughter made her way down the stairs.

"Finally up, dear?" Sabine asked, sitting up to turn and face Marinette.

"Yeah, sorry I slept in so late," Marinette replied sheepishly, awkwardly tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Sabine waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It's been a quiet day at the bakery and you needed your rest." Her caring smile widened. "I'm sure you must be hungry. I'll fix you something to eat."

"Thanks, mom." Marinette's sheepish smile turned into a genuine one as she sat down at the breakfast bar.

As Sabine began making her a quick sandwich, Marinette suddenly remembered that she needed to ask her parents about the work experience placement Nina had offered her. Unfortunately, her dad wasn't here right now, he was busy working in the bakery, but Marinette knew she needed to ask now; she didn't want to keep Nina waiting too long. She was sure her mother would be okay with it though – more than okay.

"Hey, mom?" Marinette began, and Sabine hummed in acknowledgement. "So, I've been offered an amazing opportunity to take part in a work placement for a fashion company."

Sabine immediately stopped what she was doing to beam at her daughter. Her mother ran over and engulfed her daughter in a large bear hug, squeezing Marinette tightly in excitement.

"Oh, Marinette, that's amazing!" Sabine gushed before releasing her daughter to get back to making her something to eat. Marinette smiled, pride swirling around inside her at how happy and proud she was making her mother by being able to follow her dreams like this. She knew her mother would be happy and supportive over this.

"Who's the placement with?" Sabine asked excitedly, picking up the plate, ready to hand it to Marinette.

"Nina Couture," Marinette replied happily, swinging her legs in her seat giddily.

 _Crash._

At that name, Sabine instantly froze. The plate she had been holding had slipped out of her hand and shattered into many sharp and broken pieces on the floor with Marinette's sandwich splattering everywhere. The sudden silence was heavy like lead, and Marinette watched her mother in confusion as Sabine's grey eyes appeared to be far off and unfocused, her mouth agape slightly while the rest of her expression was blank. Marinette couldn't help but remain still out of fear. Was her mother okay?

"M-mom?" Marinette quietly asked, her voice shaking with fear slightly.

At the sound of her daughter's voice, Sabine seemed to instantly snap out of her state. The broken plate and scattered food seemed to be forgotten as Sabine Cheng finally looked at her daughter, her eyes narrowed, and her face stern, emitting a powerful aura of parental authority. Marinette found herself cringing back slightly; her mother had never looked at her like that before. Not even when Marinette had been at her naughtiest as a child.

"I'm afraid…I cannot give you permission to go on that placement Marinette." Sabine's voice was final, but Marinette couldn't help but challenge it.

"But why?" Marinette asked, desperately searching for some sense in her mother's confusing and sudden refusal. "You were all excited for it a second ago. What changed?"

"I…I just think you're a little too young to be doing something like that. You need to focus on your studies." Sabine frowned, and Marinette couldn't help but frown back in defiance.

She was never really one to talk back to her parents, Marinette had always been pretty well behaved, however this time, she couldn't help but feel like her mother was being incredibly unfair and unjust.

"That still doesn't answer my question," Marinette demanded, taking a stance.

"Yes, well, I'm really sorry about getting your hopes up, but I just realised how much time that might take away from your school work. I thought you were worried about falling behind?"

"By taking unnecessary time off, yeah," Marinette retorted, her voice getting louder in anger, "but this is an opportunity I can't afford to miss! Nina has offered me a placement that can help shape my future and get me into the fashion industry. And I'm going to take it!"

"Oh no you are not, young lady!" Sabine raised her voice, causing Marinette to shrink back slightly.

"But –"

"You are not going on that work placement and that's FINAL!"

Marinette could feel her resolve weakening. Betrayed tears welled up in her eyes. How could her mother do this to her? She knew how bad Marinette wanted to be a fashion designer and now she was sabotaging that opportunity. Sabine herself looked upset, and she slowly reached a hand out in attempt to place it on her daughter's shoulder. Marinette pushed it away, ignoring the hurt look on her mother's face.

The young hero didn't want to break down in front of her mother, so she abruptly stood up, her appetite having long since vanished by now, and she stormed back upstairs. Sabine made no attempt to follow her. She simply stood still, her eyes closing sadly.

In her anger, Marinette loudly slammed her trap door behind her before climbing up to her bed and flinging herself down. She gripped her pillow tightly, unable to hold back the sobs that clawed their way out of her, like a wild animal, desperate to be released from captivity. Marinette didn't care if her mother could hear her crying. In fact, she wanted her mother to hear. She wanted her to know the pain she had caused her. She thought her mother cared about her ambitions and her hopes and dreams.

Obviously not.

Now Marinette may never be able to climb the greasy pole of the fashion industry, especially if she turned down one of the most famous people in the industry.

"Marinette?" Tikki's soft voice came from just above her head. "Are you alright? I heard everything that happened."

"How could she do that to me, Tikki?" Marinette sobbed. "She knows how much I want to be a fashion designer."

Tikki sighed, sitting on top of Marinette's buried head before gently stroking her dark hair. "I'm sure your mother is only trying to look out for you. She might be right in that it might interfere with school."

"But this is my dream, Tikki," Marinette whimpered.

"And there are plenty of other ways you can achieve that dream. I'm sure you'll get into university no problem, and you can get into the industry through that route. It's not the end of the world, Marinette. I believe in you," Tikki comforted.

Marinette sniffed. "Thanks, Tikki. At least I know I can always count on your support."

"Always, Marinette." Tikki smiled. "But you really do have enough distractions lately with school and saving Paris. On top of that, I know you haven't been sleeping well lately. I see you stayed up late with Chat Noir again last night."

Marinette could feel herself blushing, though thankfully, her face was still hidden by her pillow.

"For someone who said they're not interested in Chat Noir," Tikki teased, "your actions sure seem to say the opposite."

The young hero growled, turning over to face the ceiling. Tikki floated upwards before moving to sit on the small shelf next to her bed. She gazed down at Marinette with sympathetic eyes. Marinette didn't even feel like dignifying Tikki's teasing with a response. She was still too upset with what had just happened with her mother to begin worrying about Chat Noir again.

Though she did hope he was okay right now. She got the strong impression last night that he was still upset with her, though Marinette didn't know why she expected him not to be. She had severely hurt him. Though he may have accepted her apology and was talking to her again, that didn't necessarily mean that he had forgotten what happened. His guard will likely be up now, and as much as it upset her, she understood. But, just like she thought yesterday, Chat would hopefully one day move on and find someone who would love him back and treat him right.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts of the intoxicating miasma of thoughts that was Chat Noir lately, Marinette sat up and picked up Nina's business card that was situated on her shelf next to Tikki. Marinette utterly despaired at the thought of disappointing Nina. Nina had seemed to be so keen on her taking her up on her offer, and Marinette didn't like the idea of letting her down.

However, her mother was undeniably – and rather unfairly – against the idea. Marinette gritted her teeth at that thought before forcing herself to compose herself again. She picked up her phone, ready to dial in Nina's number before looking at Tikki who nodded at her in reassurance. Marinette's thumb hovered over her screen before she sighed and placed her phone back down.

"Maybe it would be more polite to tell her in person," Marinette pondered, looking down sadly. "I could use the fresh air of the walk there anyway."

Marinette looked at the address. It wasn't too far away. Normally, it would be a distance that Marinette would catch the bus for, but she felt like a nice long walk would help her clear her head and help her prepare for what she was going to say to Nina.

"If that's how you feel." Tikki smiled, sitting up, ready to fly into Marinette's purse.

Marinette nodded and climbed down from her bed. She picked up her purse that was hanging on the back of her desk chair and opened it up for Tikki, who immediately flew inside before Marinette closed it behind her. She slung it over her shoulder before gulping as her hand hovered over the trapdoor. Marinette really didn't want to face her mother right now, but she knew she had to.

With a new-found determination, Marinette opened her door and strode confidently and with purpose down the stairs. Sabine was still sat in the living room watching the television, and her head snapped up to look at Marinette. It looked like she had been crying, though Marinette didn't understand what she had to cry over.

"M-Marinette?" Sabine sniffed, quickly wiping her face. "Where are you going?"

"Out," was all Marinette could bring herself to flatly respond as she made her way over to the front door.

Sabine said nothing, instead looking down sadly and guiltily. Marinette bit her lip at the sight of her mother looking so upset. She hated this. She hated fighting with any of her parents, and it pained her to see her mother like this. However, this didn't mean she could forgive her mother just yet for what she had done. Marinette had accepted her mother's words that she was not to accept this work placement, and was now on her way to turn down a once in a lifetime opportunity. So, Marinette felt like she had the right to still be upset and not want to talk to her mother right now.

As quickly as possible, Marinette left, her heart in her mouth the whole time as she closed the door on her mother. She power walked down the stairs, ignoring her father as she walked past him in the bakery.

The hot sun hit her face as soon as she made it outside, and the cheery weather seemed to be mocking her. Marinette glared in the direction of the sun before walking towards Nina's office headquarters at a normal pace.

Completely wrapped up in her deep thoughts, Marinette barely noticed that she had arrived until the almost unbearable shine of Nina's name written in gold letters snapped her out of her daydreaming. Marinette then stood outside for what felt like an eternity. Now that she was here, she couldn't muster up the courage to go inside. It was like an invisible rope was tied behind her back, preventing her from moving any further.

People moved in and out of the building, not seeming to notice her oddly standing and gawking at the pristine revolving door. It was hard to see inside the building as all of the windows were tinted. Neatly trimmed green bushes decorated the side of the entrance, further blocking the view of the inside. Marinette suddenly felt way out of her depth at the sight of the posh looking people walking in and out.

Gulping back her fear as best she could, Marinette finally forced herself to move forward. One step at a time, she finally made it to the door before gently pushing on the golden bar and making her way inside.

Marinette froze once again once she was inside.

The floor was made of beautiful white marble tiles with red marble columns that towered up to the intricately carved ceiling of swirling gothic designs. A gold, silver and diamond chandelier hung in the centre, just before the escalators that led up to the next floor. Any item of clothing you could think of was hung carefully on golden rails towards the back of the store while make-up and perfume desks sat closer to the entrance.

The store didn't seem too busy, and while her eyes looked around, hungrily taking everything in, Marinette finally managed to spot what looked like a main reception desk. A woman, dressed in a black and white uniform was sat there reading a book, and Marinette decided that talking to her might be her best bet of finding Nina. When Marinette approached, the lady didn't even look up. Marinette cleared her throat and still nothing.

"Excuse me?" Minette asked in a quiet, timid voice.

The woman finally looked up, shooting Marinette an annoyed looking expression before looking at her up and down, a sneer then appearing on her face.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she demanded with a hint of attitude.

"I'm looking for Nina Couture," Marinette explained, trying her best to keep the intimidated shaking out of her voice. The woman behind the desk reminded her a lot of Chloé.

The receptionist chuckled. "Then you're wasting your time little girl. Ms. Couture doesn't have time for the likes of you, now run along."

Marinette frowned before pulling the business card out of her purse and showing the lady. "She offered me a work placement and I've come here to speak to her about it. She said I could talk to her anytime."

The woman seemed shocked at the sight of the business card before her face morphed back into a sneer. She reluctantly and exaggeratingly picked up the phone and dialled a number. The woman shot Marinette a glare to which Marinette had to prevent herself from glaring back in response. What was this lady's problem?

The phone rang a few times until the familiar soft, high voice of Nina answered, sounding slightly irritated. Marinette couldn't make out what Nina was saying despite straining her ears as hard as possible to listen.

"I'm sorry ma'am I know you're in a meeting, but some _girl_ says she wants to see you." The woman shot Marinette another glare. "She had your business card and claims she's been offered a work placement by you personally…No, I didn't get her name…What does she look like? Well I dunno." Her eyes scanned Marinette's body. "Skinny, black hair in pigtails, blue eyes, kinda awkward looking."

Marinette blushed and crossed her arms over her body self-consciously.

"Yes, ma'am," the woman said before hanging up the phone and getting back to reading her book, refusing to look at Marinette.

"Someone will be down here any minute to escort you up," the woman explained.

"Thank you," Marinette said, despite the lady's behaviour towards her, and took a few steps away, looking around to try and spot anyone who might be walking towards her.

After what felt like a minute, what looked like that familiar man who had been with Nina that day when she came to her school approached her, once again dressed all in black. He smiled politely down at her, and Marinette awkwardly smiled back, slightly intimidated by him.

"This way, please." He gestured his hand towards a fancy looking elevator, and Marinette was beginning to think this place was fancier than Chloé's father's hotel.

They were the only ones in the elevator which made Marinette feel even more awkward. Gentle music was playing, and all Marinette could do was stare at the floor as they continued to go up for what felt like an eternity. Marinette began to feel even more nervous to the point where the sudden _ding_ of the elevator made her jump.

The man stepped out, and Marinette wordlessly followed him down a long corridor until he stopped and opened some large double doors at the end. He stepped aside and motioned Marinette inside.

Anxiously, Marinette stepped inside, though the man did not follow her in. She turned to face him in confusion.

He offered her a small smile. "Ms. Couture will be with you shortly."

And with that, he closed the door behind him.

Marinette turned back around, feeling uncomfortable as she realised she was now alone in Nina's office. It was very grand in design with floor to ceiling windows that had a marvellous view of the city. The floor and the ceiling were the same as downstairs, though the ceiling was now slightly lower with a much smaller chandelier than the one from downstairs. The walls were painted a blood red, and the room was filled with dark wooden furniture. Two red fabric couches faced each other in the centre, with a small wooden coffee table in the middle. The desk was pushed towards the back of the room just in front of the giant windows. The desk chair was huge, made out of black leather with two smaller chairs on the other side of the desk.

Marinette made her way over and couldn't resist running her finger along the wood as she walked around. Many papers were scattered around the desk in a slightly untidy fashion, and Marinette couldn't help but smile when she noticed one pile of papers contained the designs of her classmates with her ruined one on top, much to her dismay and confusion.

Getting slightly giddy at being alone in an office like this, Marinette was unable to fight off the urge to sit in the large leather chair. She spun around on it like a child, fantasying about having a fashion empire of her own one day with a desk chair like this.

"Having fun?"

A soft chuckle made Marinette jump, and she immediately leapt off the chair like it was on fire. Her wide eyes met the amused eyes of Nina, who was stood at the front of her desk with her arms crossed, smiling at Marinette with a slight hint of bemusement.

"Oh I-I was j-just…" Marinette stuttered, panicking.

Nina laughed as she moved around the desk to claim her chair back, sitting down and pushing herself towards the desk. Marinette stumbled around to the other side, remaining standing as her face turned bright red in embarrassment.

"It's okay." Nina let out one final chuckle before turning slightly more serious. "So, what can I do for you? I must admit, I'm rather surprised to see you here. I thought you would prefer to call me."

Marinette froze, her words becoming caught in a jumbled mess in her throat. "I…I have some bad news I'm afraid."

Nina raised a delicate blonde eyebrow.

"I can't do the work placement." Marinette decided it would be best to just come out and say it and not waste Nina's time.

Nina remained frozen and silent for a few seconds before her eye twitched slightly.

"Why not?" Her voice was flat.

"My…my mother isn't too happy about it and won't let me."

Nina frowned, her eyes regarding Marinette suspiciously, though Marinette wasn't sure why.

"Did she give you a reason?"

Marinette sighed sadly. "Just that she doesn't want it interfering with my schoolwork."

"I see," Nina mused, her body relaxing slightly, her mouth twitching as she appeared to be fighting off a smirk.

"So, I can't do the placement," Marinette explained, looking defeated.

Nina said nothing for a few minutes before she leaned forward, crossing her arms in front of her on her desk. "You know, Marinette, I didn't get where I am today because I listened to other people. I did what I wanted to do, and I did what I knew I needed to do to get to where I am today."

Marinette looked up curiously.

"I was just like you once," Nina continued, "I came from an even poorer and more disadvantaged background than you, and I made it to the top because I refused to let other people tell me what to do."

"Wait…are you saying that I should…lie?" Marinette gasped.

"It should come naturally to you shouldn't it?" Nina winked, and Marinette took an automatic step back, her mind immediately going to her double life as Ladybug. What could Nina have possibly meant by that? It creeped her out slightly, and as if sensing this, Nina spoke again.

"You are a teenager after all."

Marinette immediately relaxed slightly again, though was still shocked at what Nina was saying.

"I…I don't like lying," Marinette mumbled, a frown appearing on her face.

Nina focused her intense deep blue eyes on Marinette, smiling slightly as she stared at her. "Maybe lying is the wrong word. You're just simply not telling your parents," Nina offered before her tone turned slightly pleading and charming. "Please, Marinette, you don't want to turn down this opportunity just because two people who clearly don't understand you and your dreams simply said _no,_ do you?"

Marinette had never felt more torn in her life. She hated the thought of lying to her parents; it was wrong. She loved her parents too much to think about deceiving them like this. But she knew Nina was right. Why should she listen to her mother in this instance? Marinette was almost an adult now and knew her own mind. This was a fantastic opportunity for her, and Nina was being more than generous, so why should Marinette pass up on it just because her mother claimed to be worried about school?

As if sensing what she was thinking, Nina began to explain, "We can work around your school hours and homework. Maybe you could come in, say, every Saturday?"

Biting her lip, Marinette knew she had made up her mind, though it didn't stop her from being consumed by guilt. She was betraying her parents' trust. But it was for a good cause, right? Marinette was simply securing her future and following her dreams of becoming a fashion designer. They were the ones with the problems if they couldn't see the long-term benefits of this.

"So," Nina interrupted Marinette's thoughts, "do we have a deal?" She smirked as she held her hand out.

Marinette hesitated before she slowly reached out her hand and placed it in Nina's. They both shook hands, and Marinette tried her best to smile despite being a nervous mess over this whole thing.

"It's a deal."

.

Nathalie Sancoeur stood patiently and still, with her hands clasped behind her back obediently as she watched her boss, Gabriel Agreste, pace across his office in a rare display of a lack of control of his emotions. Though she was nervous and somewhat frightened in his presence right now, she did not show it, keeping her eyes facing forward so as not to say or do the wrong thing in Gabriel's current emotional state. Gabriel crossed her path of vision again, pushing his glasses up his nose as he continued to mumble to himself before running a hand through his pale blond hair. His eyes kept darting to his safe, impregnable and secure behind the portrait of his wife.

"I understand now," Gabriel mumbled as he approached the portrait, placing his hand gently over it.

Nathalie couldn't tell if he was talking to her or to himself.

His hand then began to slowly stroke down the many eyes that decorated the painting.

Gabriel cleared his throat, speaking louder this time. "If Nina Couture is back, it can only mean one thing."

"She's after the peacock miraculous," Nathalie answered, frowning at her memories of that woman.

Gabriel smirked. "Perhaps. But I do not believe that this is what she is truly after."

"Sir?"

"There is some information that my wife and I never relayed to even you, Nathalie." Gabriel's sad eyes returned to the face of his wife. "And there is little that she relayed to me."

Gabriel looked down, starting to look utterly distraught. He looked like he had lived a thousand lives, all of them painful and tiring. The hand that was resting on the portrait clenched into a tight fist before it relaxed again as Nathalie continued to watch him curiously, remaining as still as a statue. With his other hand, Gabriel stroked the purple brooch that was hidden just under his pastel pink jacket.

"I believe I know exactly what Nina is after, though I never believed the rumours my wife told me about," Gabriel spoke with a new-found determination in his voice.

"The rumours that –"

"YES, THOSE RUMOURS!" Gabriel lost his temper in an instant, twisting around and knocking all of his papers off his desk like a child having a tantrum. "THE VERY RUMOURS THAT I TOLD HER – NO – WARNED HER NOT TO BELIEVE! BUT SHE STUBBRONLY DECIDED TO MEDDLE ANYWAY AND GOT HERSELF –" Gabriel instantly cut himself off, fighting back sobs as he placed his head in his hand, rubbing his forehead in an effort to calm himself.

Nathalie cringed back slightly, away from his wrath, frightened and unsure whilst also trying to push back her own grief that was threatening to burst through. She had been quite close with Mrs. Agreste after she had hired her. The day she never returned from that trip was truly heart wrenching, and the Agreste household she served had never been the same again.

She had to watch Gabriel and Adrien suffer every day because of her absence. Gabriel never really discussed what he had found and what had possibly happened to her, but he had never been the same since. Gabriel's wife was the light of his life, the calm sun rays to his icy demeanour. But it was then that this magical world had been revealed to her, the very moment Gabriel walked through the front doors, carrying the butterfly brooch and the coded book; all that he could scavenge from what had happened. Though the use of the peacock brooch may have been more useful in Gabriel's quest, he instead chose to use the butterfly miraculous instead, as if the peacock miraculous was tainted. At the sight of it, Gabriel merely gazed upon it in disgust, sealing it away like his wife had done before him.

"Does that mean that…Ladybug…?" Nathalie asked quietly, worried about setting Gabriel off again.

"Most likely."

"Do you think she knows?"

"I highly doubt it. She would have been kept in the dark for the protection of the entire world. If I know my wife, that's what she would have suggested to any remaining guardian."

Nathalie looked down thoughtfully before her blue eyes darted back up. "Does this now mean you know who Ladybug is?"

"No. She kept the whole thing a secret, even from me. She didn't want to risk what was destined to come to pass," Gabriel explained with a hint of betrayal in his voice. "Nina will pay for everything she has done to my family."

"You're going to attack her?" Nathalie asked. "She would be incredibly vulnerable now without her miraculous."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes before walking back over to his desk. He sat down and clasped his hands together, deep in thought. His eyebrows were deeply furrowed, casting his grey eyes in shadows. Gabriel had never looked so menacing as a dark idea formed inside his head.

Not only will he get his beloved wife back and unite his family once again, but revenge will finally be his. Images of a broken Nina on the ground, begging for death swarmed around his head. The woman who had caused him so much grief, so much pain, would be at his mercy; a mercy he would not grant. Gabriel now knew to strike where it would hurt. He knew exactly what she was planning, and little did she know, that plan would work to his advantage.

"No," Gabriel finally responded, a sadistic smile on his face. "Nina is much too clever for a head on attack, with and without a miraculous. She'll know that I'll likely know that she's back in the city. She's teasing me…taunting me…she knows I would have figured it out by now. Nina likes to play games, so I'll simply play along…just like the old days."

Nathalie frowned in confusion. "I don't understand, sir."

"Ladybug will be a huge help in my revenge against her. Ladybug may be Nina's greatest strength in her little games, but also her greatest weakness. I just need to exploit that, and not only then will I have the Ladybug miraculous and my wish granted, but also revenge on Nina is the process."

"I think I now understand, sir." Nathalie grinned.

"All we need to do, is figure out who Ladybug is." Gabriel's sadistic smile widened as he turned to stare at a photograph of his smiling son that was placed on his desk. "And _Chat Noir,_ is going to lead us right to her."

* * *

 **It's not easy writing a chapter when all your dog wants to do is play fetch. Story is starting to pick up and take a darker turn now and writing this chapter was so exciting. I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to leave a review. It's a huge help.**


	13. Awkward Encounters

**Sorry this chapter was slightly delayed. I've been really sick this week on top of needing to do my dissertation and other essay work which has suucckkked. Doctors and drugs ftw. Seriously, these pills they've given me actually taste like a rotting corpse. Lovely image for you. I hope you guys have been having a better week than me. Your feedback on the last chapter was awesome! So much fun to read and, of course, it's always more than helpful, so thank you!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Awkward Encounters**

When she arrived back outside, Marinette felt like she had just woken up from a surreal dream. Had she really just done that? Agreed to effectively lie to and deceive her parents by secretly working for Nina Couture? Now that Marinette was out of Nina's presence, she was beginning to have second thoughts. Maybe she had been too hasty and should have talked to her parents properly when they had all calmed down. Instead, she had just ploughed in there and agreed to a work placement that she knew she didn't have her parents' blessing for.

Oh no, what had she done?!

Marinette couldn't fathom her own hypocrisy in that moment. She hated lying. She always had done. And now she was failing to practice what she preached. But…what Nina said was very insightful, and perhaps Marinette would even go as far to say she was right. This _was_ Marinette's dream. A dream that she needed to fight for. Not let anyone else dictate to her what she did with her life. Her fate as a superhero had already been chosen for her, so didn't Marinette have every right to pursue her dream as a fashion designer?

With her head now a confused and panicking mess, Marinette forced herself to walk back in the direction of home. She took her time though, still not really in the mood to go back and face her parents. No doubt they would want to talk to her, and Marinette wasn't sure she was ready to face them just yet. She had nowhere else to really go though. She wanted to be left alone to try and get her head straight.

With that thought, Marinette began gravitating towards the park near her home. It would be the perfect, quiet spot to just sit and try to relax. It was still hot and sunny out which made the idea even more tempting.

The park was pretty busy by the children's playground, but luckily, everywhere else was quiet and peaceful. Marinette quickly and easily found an empty bench as far away from everyone else as possible under the shade of a large oak tree. She sat down on the hard wood and opened her purse slightly to check on Tikki, and much to her surprise, her little kwami was glaring up at her.

"Marinette, just what do you think you're playing at?" Tikki demanded, her blue eyes sparkling in anger as she frowned at her holder.

"I – uh – what?" was all Marinette could stutter out in confusion.

"I heard everything that happened in that office," Tikki explained. "What do you think you're doing going behind your parents' backs like this?"

Marinette found herself shrugging slightly apathetically. She wasn't really in the mood for a lecture right now.

"I do it all the time."

Tikki sighed. "That's different, Marinette. You're saving Paris, and the lies are to protect you and your parents. This lie was selfish."

"Selfish?" Marinette's eye twitched slightly in anger. "Mom gives me mixed messages about this work placement. At first, she's all happy for me and the next minute I suddenly can't do it for no good reason. She knows how much this means to me, and yet she just didn't seem to care. And you call _me_ the selfish one?"

"Marinette, this really isn't like you," Tikki pointed out angrily, and Marinette could feel her body relaxing in defeat.

"I know Tikki." Marinette felt a lump rising in her throat. "I just…I've been stressing a lot lately. I really feel like that I'm just at some big crossroad in my life and I want to grab this opportunity. I'm scared, Tikki. Scared that I won't achieve my dreams."

"Marinette," Tikki spoke softly again, "you're letting yourself become too controlled by your emotions lately."

Marinette bit her lip. She knew Tikki was right, but honestly, she didn't know how to fix it. Things had been weird and out of control since she first had that weird dream in which she kissed Chat Noir. That simple dream just seemed to be the catalyst for everything that had gone wrong in her life lately. Everything just felt like it was a mess at the moment; a mess that no lucky charm would be able to fix. This was something that was going to take hard work on her part.

Firstly, she needed to stop being so weird around Chat. That would be easier said than done though, and she knew it. Her dreams were going from one extreme to the next, and quite frankly, it was dizzying. Maybe…it would be best to talk to Tikki about that. If she talked about it more openly with her trusted kwami, then maybe by not bottling it up so much, it would affect her less, and by extension, Chat Noir as well.

"Tikki?" Marinette nervously asked.

"Yes?"

"You know how you said that me dreaming of Chat Noir means I'm subconsciously longing for his presence?" Marinette began, her voice shaking slightly.

"Mmhmm." Tikki looked at Marinette slightly suspiciously.

"Well…" Marinette tried to force the words out. "Then what does it mean if I have a dream where he kills me?"

Marinette had never thought it was possible, but she could've sworn that all the colour drained from Tikki's face. The small red kwami froze with her stare becoming distant and unfocused. At her kwami's sudden and odd behaviour, Marinette began to panic. _Way to reassure me, Tikki,_ Marinette thought sarcastically to herself as she kept her eyes glued to the frozen red creature.

Starting to get even more scared, Marinette clicked her fingers in front of Tikki's face, wondering if she had broken her or something.

"Tikki?" Marinette begged for her kwami to snap out of it.

Marinette sighed with relief when Tikki's blue eyes came back into focus before they widened as they focused on something behind Marinette. The little kwami let out a small gasp before diving back into Marinette's purse and out of sight, causing Marinette to frown slightly in frustration.

"Oh no you don't," Marinette exclaimed, "you can't go all weird on me and then ignore me and hide!"

"Hey, Marinette," a slightly timid and confused familiar voice spoke from behind her.

Marinette let out a shriek that sounded like a wild animal getting captured. She slammed her purse closed before looking up to see none other than Adrien Agreste standing in front of her. He was regarding her with a slightly confused and concerned expression, his hand hanging loosely in the air in a half-wave greeting. Marinette's heart leapt into her mouth, and all she could do was gawk at the love of her life, completely dumbfounded.

This caused Adrien to look even more concerned, and he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as he tried to think of something to say to diffuse the awkward situation.

"W-who were you shouting at?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Marinette unfroze, going to the opposite extreme of flailing her arms around wildly before pointing at her purse without thinking.

"Oh – umm – my purse? Yeah – my purse," Marinette gasped out, smiling widely and as innocently as possible.

Adrien's suspicious eyebrow didn't lower. "Your… _purse_?"

"Errr, yeah?" was all Marinette could lamely respond with.

"Okaaay then."

"I sometimes shout at inanimate objects, is that weird?" Marinette began to explain too quickly. "I'm forever losing my keys and my phone in my purse, so sometimes I…yell at it?"

Adrien's green eyes wandered over to the tiny pink purse that Marinette was carrying.

"I know what you're thinking: how is that possible? It's tiny! Well you see, it may look small, but it's actually quite spacious on the inside. But I think there's wormholes that open up in my purse. Yeah. You know what wormholes are, don't you? You like physics?" Marinette frowned. "I'll shut up now."

Adrien laughed, though he still seemed to be regarding Marinette with an element of suspicion that made her uncomfortable.

"If you say so, Marinette. You know, you're actually quite funny."

"Thanks. I'll be here all week." Marinette instantly cringed at her reply, feeling the oh-so-familiar blush appearing on her pale cheeks.

Adrien laughed again before gesturing to the space next to her. "Is this seat taken?"

Marinette struggled to contain her squeals of joy. Her knees bounced a few times before Marinette slapped her hands down on them to keep them still. She did her best to keep her smile as contained and polite as possible without letting it evolve into a cheshire cat grin of excitement; she'd creeped Adrien out enough for one day.

Barely managing to keep a hold of herself, Marinette nodded.

"Knock yourself out," she said, "although don't actually do that – that would be bad."

As Adrien turned around to sit down, she quickly facepalmed before returning to her previous position. Marinette's stomach exploded into a swarm of butterflies at the realisation that Adrien was sitting next to her. _Adrien Agreste was sitting next to her._ Marinette felt like she needed to pinch herself in order to be sure that she wasn't dreaming. She had acted so weird in front of him and yet he didn't want to run for the hills. Surely that was a good sign? Maybe now would be her chance to properly talk to Adrien alone and finally make some progress with him.

"So, what brings you here? I just got off a photoshoot here." Adrien asked, resting his arm against the back of the bench, just behind Marinette.

That action made her gulp, and her palms started to sweat.

No.

She could do this.

She could keep calm and hold a proper conversation with him without getting nervous.

It was the only way she was ever going to make progress with him. Acting like a giddy school girl whenever he was around was not doing her any favours. As a highly intelligent and high-class individual, Adrien probably wanted sophistication and eloquence in a girl, not babbling and weirdness. Marinette could be those first things it just…it was difficult around someone so gorgeous and handsome and amazing and –

 _Get a grip, Marinette!_

"Oh, well…I guess I just needed some thinking space," Marinette answered honestly.

Adrien suddenly looked slightly concerned and leaned a little closer. "Oh? Are you alright?"

"I guess." Marinette looked down and rubbed the palm of her hands together before stretching her legs out and slouching slightly. "I had a fight with my mom, and I think…well, I've done something bad."

"Something bad?" Adrien asked incredulously. "Marinette, you're, like, the sweetest person I know."

Marinette smiled slightly, her cheeks turning pink, though her smile quickly fell again. "That doesn't mean I always do good things, Adrien. And today, I think I acted without thinking. I was just so angry and wanted to put myself first for a change."

"That doesn't necessarily make you a bad person," Adrien explained, "we all need to be a little selfish sometimes."

"I know, but," Marinette sighed out, "I think I went too far this time."

"Okay, why don't you explain to me what happened?" Adrien offered. "That is, of course, if you want to; I don't mean to pry."

Marinette looked up, smiling softly at him. "It's alright. It's just…remember how Nina Couture came to our school?"

When Adrien nodded, Marinette continued explaining.

"She offered me a work experience placement after she saw my work."

"That's fantastic, Marinette." Adrien's praise seemed oddly familiar, though Marinette couldn't quite place it right now.

"I thought so too." Marinette looked down glumly again. "I told my mom about it and she was really happy for me at first, but then, all of a sudden, she just did a complete one-eighty. She said she wasn't going to let me do it and that it would interfere too much with my schoolwork. So earlier I went to go and see Nina to tell her in person that I couldn't accept the placement and…I don't know what happened or what I was thinking! But one moment I was telling Nina I couldn't do it and the next I was just blindly accepting and planning to lie to my parents about it. I feel awful, but at the same time I still want to do this, and I just feel so confused."

Marinette finally finished her rushed explanation before burying her head in her hands in an effort to hide the fact that she was holding back tears. She jumped slightly when she felt a warm hand gently touch the top of her back, rubbing slow, soothing circles. Marinette felt like she could just melt under his touch. Her anxieties lifted slightly, and the pleasant, fuzzy feeling from his touch sent shivers to every inch of her body.

"If it makes you feel any better," Adrien comforted, "I understand how you feel."

Marinette peered out from her hands to gaze at him. Though his hand remained on her back, his green eyes were cast down in sorrow with his lip pouting slightly. He looked so broken and lonely that Marinette's eyes couldn't help but widen.

"My father tries to dictate every little detail of my life and it's draining, especially now that I'm older and have a mind of my own. I love him, of course I do, but…sometimes I just wish I had a normal, loving family," Adrien explained, his face becoming more pained with each word.

"What about your mother? Weren't you close with her?" Marinette asked without thinking.

Once she realised what she had just said, she quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, her blue eyes widening with fear.

Seeing her reaction, Adrien shot her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, we were very close, but even she was incredibly overprotective of me."

"How come?"

"I guess it's just because both my parents are famous and they were worried about my safety in public or something. My parents have always been pretty paranoid people," Adrien explained

"What…what happened? To your mother?" Marinette asked slowly. "Sorry, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."

"It's fine. Most people are too scared to ask, but…it helps me…to talk about it I mean. My father never really likes discussing it, so I just end up bottling everything up and I hate it." Adrien clenched his fist on his knee before relaxing it again. "Honestly…I don't know what happened to her. She just went on a trip to Tibet and…never came back."

Adrien began to shake slightly, and his hand clenched into a fist again. His eyes squinted as if he was trying to hold back tears, a sight that shattered Marinette's heart into a million pieces. He looked so lost, so hopeless, so vulnerable. Marinette wished she could somehow take all his pain away.

Unable to stand seeing him so upset, Marinette ignored her protesting nerves and sat up before wrapping her arms around him. Adrien froze at the unexpectedness before he relaxed and gently wrapped his arms around her in return. Marinette smiled and closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder, figuring that they both just really needed a hug right now.

The embrace lasted longer than was probably normal for friends, so it surprised Marinette slightly when Adrien didn't pull away. If anything, it felt like he was starting to hold on to her tighter, burying his face in her hair slightly, making Marinette blush again. Once again, Marinette found herself engulfed in that familiar, pheromonic scent that she just could not get enough off. Unable to resist, Marinette subtly inhaled deeply, savouring every moment until the sound of someone wolf whistling at them from a distance made them both jump back from each other.

Marinette and Adrien both smiled at each other awkwardly before Adrien looked away and rubbed the back of his head.

"Thanks…I think I needed that."

"Likewise," Marinette managed to squeak out, trying her best to hide her red face among her dark hair.

They remained in awkward silence for a few moments, neither of them daring to look at the other. Marinette could feel herself cringing inwardly on herself, and it felt like her mouth was full of cotton balls, the awful feeling preventing her from speaking. She was beginning to feel like she had blown it again by being too inappropriate.

But in that moment, Adrien just looked like he needed some show of affection that he was just so malnourished of. Now she had gone and made things awkward between them again. Just as she had seemingly got over her major stutter when talking to him. But…he had hugged her back…hadn't he? Or was Marinette so lost in her fantasies that she had imagined that sensation? Did he genuinely like the embrace or was he just being polite? Marinette began to bite her lip anxiously at the paranoid thoughts that began assaulting her.

"Do you want to go for a walk around the park?" Adrien finally broke the silence, and Marinette turned around to see him smiling happily at her.

His smile was an infectious ray of sunshine, and Marinette couldn't help but smile back despite her troubles and paranoid delusions. She nodded her reply, and Adrien stood up, offering his arm to her to her – ever the gentleman – and Marinette graciously, albeit very nervously, hooked her arm around his as she got to her feet.

Adrien began leading her down the path, keeping their arms locked together. Marinette kept her eyes on the ground, terrified that she would trip over and ruin this moment that she had dreamed about for so long now.

 _It felt just like they were on a date!_

Marinette had to contain her squeals at that thought. She couldn't afford to get carried away and ruin this wonderful moment.

"I see that graze still looks pretty nasty."

There was a suspicious edge to the tone of Adrien's question that made Marinette's heart skip a beat. Was he still suspecting something? Was that what all of this was about?

Marinette knew that this moment was too good to be true. She decided it was best to play along anyway to try and look as innocent as possible. She wanted to slap herself for forgetting to apply her make-up today.

"Errr, yeah," Marinette responded as casually and as nonchalantly as she could.

"How come you're not wearing the make-up today?"

At least Marinette wouldn't have to lie to answer this question.

"With everything that happened with my mom today, I forgot. All my friends know about it now anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter so much."

"Mmm." Adrien sounded deep in thought and slightly frustrated.

"Is everything alright?" Marinette asked, keeping up the innocent act.

"Yeah, I'm good," Adrien responded a little too quickly before immediately changing the subject back to their original discussion. "So, what do you think you're going to do? Are you going to tell your parents the truth? Quit your placement?"

."I have no idea," Marinette sighed out, her voice was full of pain and defeat.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Adrien encouraged. "Personally, I don't think you should give up on what you want, but at the same time, and take it from me, parents always have a funny way of finding out if you've been lying."

"I know." Marinette threw her head back and groaned. "I just don't understand why my mom behaved so strangely over this whole thing. It's not like her at all."

"Then if it's not normally like her, then surely it must be for a good reason," Adrien mused.

"I can't think of said reason though." Marinette sighed before chuckling. "Unless she's hiding this big ultra-life changing secret from me."

She giggled at her own absurd joke, and Adrien chuckled with her.

"Your tiny baker mom?" Adrien asked incredulously. "I seriously doubt that. She probably is just worried about your schoolwork. I've seen your grades in some classes, and they're not exactly the best," he teased.

"Hey!" Marinette yelled, nudging him slightly before giggling. "I'm not that bad! I just…struggle slightly with the academic side of things sometimes, especially in science."

"Well, why don't I tutor you?"

Marinette fought the urge to slap herself to make extra double sure that she wasn't inside some wonderful dream right now. If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up. Ever. This all just seemed too good to be true. _Adrien Agreste_ offering to tutor her!

"Oh, no, I couldn't."

Once again Marinette resisted the urge to hit herself over her polite reply. She wanted to scream, _YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES, YES!_ Then jump into Adrien's arms and he would carry her off into the sunset where they'd get married and have three children and be together forever!

However, Marinette had to play it cool. She was learning from her past mistakes with Adrien, and was trying to be her more confident self around him. This way, at least he would get to know the real her and not the stuttering, stumbling mess that she usually was around him. This would be her new tactic in getting close to him. As cheesy as it was, Marinette knew that she just needed to be herself.

"I'd be more than happy to help though. We both have a few study periods together. At least this way, you can do your work placement and keep up with your schoolwork," Adrien advised, seeming surprisingly eager to do this for her.

Marinette was becoming overwhelmed with his kindness. Adrien did make it seem like a great idea. She could spend time with Adrien, improve her work _and_ get to do her work placement without making her mom suspicious about her falling grades.

Wait…Marinette couldn't believe she was still acting like she was going to lie to her parents.

 _Was_ she?

She didn't know. This was an issue that would have to wait for later, because right now, _Adrien hot stuff Agreste was offering to tutor her!_ This day was finally looking up!

"Well, sure then, if it's okay with you." It took every ounce of Marinette's energy to hide the many internal screams of happiness from her voice at that moment. _Be casual, Marinette, play it cool._

Adrien beamed. "Great, I guess I'll meet you in the library on Monday's study period."

Marinette smiled back and nodded before they continued to walk arm-in-arm through the park. Marinette really had to fight off the urge to faint at how romantic this was. She had to keep reminding herself that Adrien was only doing this as a friend. Friends linked arms, right? She did it all the time with Alya, and just because Adrien was a boy, it didn't necessarily mean that he was as madly in love with her as she was with him.

But one day, if Marinette continued to play her cards right, they could be walking hand-in-hand through this very park as a proper couple. The very thought almost Marinette squeal out loud, but luckily, she was able to keep a hold of herself.

"You call yourself an artist!"

A woman yelling snapped Marinette out of her thoughts.

Adrien and Marinette both immediately looked in the direction the yelling came from to see a tall red-haired lady shouting at a very stunned young man. He was covered in paint that looked like it had just been thrown on him. They were both standing next to a large canvas that appeared to be a painting of the red-haired lady as a pop star or something to that effect. Marinette thought that the painting looked really good, but obviously the woman didn't think so.

"I can't believe I paid ten euros for this garbage!" she continued to yell, gesturing frustratingly towards the painting.

The man shrank back slightly, but intense anger crossed his face. "Madame, I only did exactly what you asked. I paint people's dreams and you said you wanted to be a pop star."

"But you made me look awful! My nose is not that big! I'm taking my money back!"

The painter stepped back and blocked the woman from reaching into his shirt pocket to grab the money back.

"No refunds I'm afraid. Especially as I only did as you said," the painter tried to explain, which made the woman's face turn as red as her hair.

"You can stick your stupid painting then, you talentless thief!"

In her tantrum, the woman knocked the canvas off the easel and it fell to the ground with a loud clatter. In the process, all the painter's paints fell off too, some of them landing and drenching the artist in even more paint. In a sight sad to behold, the artist just stood there, unmoving, just letting the wet paint seep into his clothes and stain his skin a variety of colours.

The woman huffed, flicking her hair back before storming off, leaving the poor painter with all of the mess to clean up.

Adrien and Marinette both looked at each other worriedly before hurrying over together to see if he was alright. Just as they began trying to help him pick his things off the ground, he slapped their hands away in anger.

"Don't touch, just leave me alone!" he snapped.

"Are you alright, sir?" Adrien asked as both he and Marinette jumped back in alarm at his hostility.

"My passion, my work, my life's calling has just been insulted, of course I'm not okay. Now leave me alone!" the painter insisted, quickly picking his things off the ground.

"But –" Marinette tried to protest.

"I said go away!" the painter yelled, and Adrien wrapped his hand around Marinette's shoulder, gently pulling her away.

"Come on, Marinette," Adrien urged as he led them both away.

"But Adrien…" Marinette protested again, getting really worried about that poor man.

"If he doesn't want our help, then there's nothing we can do," Adrien sighed out sadly.

Marinette sighed as well, finally letting Adrien lead her away, but not before stealing one last glance at the painter who was still kneeling on the ground and picking his things up. However, her heart instantly stopped in her chest when she caught sight of the familiar dark purple butterfly flying towards him. The painter didn't seem to notice, and the akuma was easily able to infect one of his canvases, causing the painter to instantly go rigid.

"NO!" Marinette cried out, startling Adrien who whipped his head around to see what had Marinette crying out in alarm.

Adrien gasped as the painter transformed right in front of them into one of Hawkmoth's latest minions. His skin and clothes became a multi-coloured splattering of paint, and he turned around to grin menacingly at Marinette and Adrien, a purple butterfly appearing before his eyes as Hawkmoth seized control over him.

Out of instinct, Adrien and Marinette both threw protective hands in front of the other, accidentally hitting each other in the process before gazing at the other in confusion at their actions. Adrien frowned at Marinette suspiciously, causing her to gulp.

"I am Dreamscape!" the akumatized painter yelled, holding his paintbrush in the air. "Don't like my art? Well let's see how you fair when I paint you into your wildest dreams! I'm sure you'll find them quite… _realistic._ "

Dreamscape picked up his now blank canvas before throwing it at a nearby person who was instantly absorbed by the canvas. Other people in the park began screaming and running away in fear, which only caused Dreamscape to laugh manically.

Adrien grabbed onto Marinette's hand and instantly began leading her away. It was then that Marinette realised what an awkward situation she was in. She needed to make sure Adrien got somewhere safe before disappearing to transform without making him suspicious. But how exactly was she going to do that?

"Since you two were so kind to try and help me, of course I'm going to make sure that all of your dreams come true."

Dreamscape's laugh seemed to be approaching closer behind them, and Marinette managed to look back, just in time to see him raising his canvas in the air, ready to strike.

"Look out!" Marinette cried out to Adrien, letting go of his hand to push him out of the way and dive backwards herself just in time.

The magical canvas flew past them, just barely missing Marinette as both she and Adrien fell to the ground. With Adrien successfully distracted and now having his back to her, Marinette managed to slip behind a large tree trunk that was thick enough to obscure any view of her. She quickly opened up her purse to greet a ready and waiting Tikki.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette quickly commanded, and soon Ladybug was ready for action.

Ladybug darted back out from behind the tree just as Adrien managed to get up and turn around, looking slightly disorientated and panicked with Marinette no longer in sight. Dreamscape was about to throw another canvas towards him when Ladybug dashed over and grabbed hold of Adrien and pulled him away.

"Ladybug!" Adrien cried out. "What about Marinette?"

"She's safe, I got her out of there." Ladybug lied, hooking her yo-yo around a tree at the other side of the park.

Giving the string a gentle tug, it was soon pulling them both through the air with Ladybug keeping a tight grip on Adrien's waist. As they flung behind the tree, Ladybug slowly let go of him before peeping around the stump to see if they had been followed. Luckily, they hadn't, and Ladybug sighed with relief before turning back towards Adrien.

"Stay here," she ordered, not waiting for Adrien to respond as she ran back out to try and find Dreamscape.

It didn't take long. Dreamscape had begun running in the direction that the group of people had fled in earlier, his canvas hooked tightly under his arm.

Ladybug immediately began running after him, swinging her yo-yo before flinging her weapon forward and wrapping the string around his legs. Dreamscape immediately tripped over with a grunt before looking back to glare at Ladybug. Ladybug simply smiled back and began walking over ready to release the akuma from his canvas.

This caused Dreamscape to growl, and he reached for his paintbrush. He dipped it in the tube of black paint that was attached to his belt around his waist before waving it through the air. With the strokes of his brush, black wire began wrapping around Ladybug's legs, tripping her up in the process. She fell to the ground with a painful thud, and Ladybug let out a groan of annoyance.

"You'd make a lovely addition to my work." Dreamscape grinned before holding his canvas up and tossing at her.

Ladybug gasped and cringed backwards. However, the impact never came. Ladybug cried out in alarm as none other than Chat Noir dove in front of her, taking the hit for her.

 _That stupid cat!_

"CHAT NOIR!" Ladybug screamed in horror as the instant the material touched his body, Chat disappeared, being absorbed into the canvas so quickly that if Ladybug had blinked, she would have missed it.

In a desperate rage, Ladybug tried to wiggle out of her restraints, but the wire had been wrapped tightly around her legs, rendering it almost impossible for her to stand up quickly and get away.

"Oh, don't worry my dear," Dreamscape chuckled out as he slowly picked up his canvas, "you'll soon be joining him."

Just as Dreamscape was about to throw his canvas at her, Ladybug managed to backflip herself off the ground before using the strong, impenetrable string of her yo-yo to cut the wires around her legs. The string of her yo-yo cut through them easily as if they were made of paper, and Ladybug quickly ran in the opposite direction to put some distance between them. She needed to finish this quickly in order to save Chat Noir and the others.

"Come back here you philistine!" Dreamscape yelled, but Ladybug ignored him.

It pained her that Chat Noir kept doing things like that for her. Ladybug had now lost count of how many times that he had sacrificed himself for her, and it now struck her that it may have been more than a case of chivalry or a mere noble act of a friend. His feelings for her were a lot deeper than Ladybug realised, and that thought caused her to trip over slightly and lose her footing.

The last thing Ladybug felt was something hard and light touching her now outstretched foot before her vision suddenly turned into a bright, blinding white light.

* * *

 **Dun dun duuun. I feel like this chapter wasn't very good, but I did the best I could despite feeling like death. I'm not too sure when my next update will be. I'm aiming for Monday, but we'll see how things go. I've really fallen behind in my work now thanks to being ill, so my update schedule will likely be all over the place for a little bit until I can catch up. Sorry about that, I really am.**

 **Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think. It's always a huge help.**


	14. Darkest Dream

**Greetings and welcome back! Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and follows. You guys have no idea how much trouble this chapter gave me. It was like it was jinxed or something. I had to re-write it twice because it wasn't quite right and then it randomly deleted itself off my computer. It was really weird and luckily I managed to recover it.**

 **I just wanted to reiterate a quick WARNING! This story is going to get darker and more violent from this point onwards. I'm just worried I've led you guys into a false sense of security with how semi-innocent the story has been so far. This chapter in particular may be slightly disturbing to some people.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Darkest Dream**

Ladybug's eyes snapped open and she immediately sat bolt upright in bed. Cold sweat dripped from her skin and down her red and black spotted suit as she looked around the familiar yet familiar room. Something felt wrong about today, like Ladybug's dreams refused to surrender her to the day ahead.

Shaking her head, Ladybug rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, pushing the satin sheets off herself before she kicked her feet so they hung off the large queen-sized bed beneath her. The warm rays of the morning sun gently greeted her face, the light shimmering through the glass balcony doors that provided Ladybug with a beautiful view of all of Paris.

Ignoring the persistent foreboding feeling deep within the pit of her stomach, Ladybug forced herself to stand up. She softly ran her fingers down the translucent curtains in front of the double doors of the balcony, and she frowned slightly as her instincts kept screaming at her, despite no danger being present. It was such a beautiful day though. What could possibly have her on such high alert?

Shaking her head, Ladybug wondered if she just needed her morning coffee. She ran her fingers through her short hair in an attempt to maybe soothe her head, remembering with a nostalgic smile the twin pigtails she used to wear.

As she tried her best to silence her screaming instincts, Ladybug made her way downstairs, though for some reason, today had a slightly surreal feel to it. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was enough to make her feel weird and on edge.

Yeah, she definitely needed some coffee.

As Ladybug began to approach the kitchen, the sound of giggles of happiness made her automatically smile. She peeked around the doorway of the kitchen to see three small children all sat around a circular table that was pushed into the corner of the kitchen. The eldest boy and youngest boy almost looked identical with black hair and striking green eyes, both of them dressed in similar jeans and hoodies. They sat chatting and laughing with each other as they both ate a bowl of cereal. A baby girl, who looked no older than one-year-old, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, was sat in a highchair giggling to herself as she watched her brothers.

Ladybug's heart melted at the sight of them, and she smiled softly to herself as she continued to watch them. However, her view was suddenly obscured by two black gloved hands clasping over her eyes.

"Guess who?" a familiar voice asked, chuckling behind her.

"Hmmm." Ladybug pretended to think. "I wonder who it could possibly be?"

She heard the children snigger.

"Maybe the only other person in the house? _Adrien_ ," Ladybug teased.

"Aww, you're no fun."

His hands released her eyes, and Ladybug spun around with a smirk on her face. Her blue eyes met his green cat-like ones, and his black leather cat ears drooped adorably and sullenly at her sarcasm. However, Chat couldn't keep up the act for very long, and soon he couldn't help but beam down at Ladybug before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

Ladybug leaned against him, unable to look away from his eyes, completely entranced. He had lost some of the roundness in his face, now looking much more mature, and his wild blond hair was now much thicker than before. Ladybug reached up to rest her arms against his shoulders, giggling slightly when Chat leaned down to rest his forehead against hers.

"On the contrary I can be loads of fun." Ladybug winked at Chat, which made him smirk deviously.

"Oh, I know you can, Marinette." His smirk grew wider just as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers.

Ladybug kissed him back just as eagerly, slowly opening her mouth to deepen the kiss and allow his tongue to explore her mouth and tangle with her own. Electricity pulsed through her body, and she pressed her chest closer against his, feeling empty, lonely and incomplete without having every inch of him pressed tightly against her. Chat quietly moaned into the kiss as he gripped her waist tighter while Ladybug entangled her fingers in his blond locks.

The sound of gagging and laughter nearby showered upon them like freezing cold water, and the both of them instantly pulled apart, gasping for air, before playfully glaring at their children.

"We're trying to eat here," the oldest boy pointed out, pushing his cereal bowl away in disgust.

"I'll remind you of that in ten years, Hugo, when you're kissing your future partner in front of us," Chat joked, wrapping his arm around Ladybug's shoulders and leading them both into the kitchen.

He then gently pushed down on her shoulders, making her sit down at the table before he made his way over to the counter, brewing her coffee and getting some food for them and little Emma.

"You don't have to do that, Adrien," Ladybug insisted.

"Can't I spoil my princess?" Chat winked at her. "It's one of your few days off today and I'm going to spoil you rotten."

"But –"

"No buts," Chat interrupted her playfully and sternly. "My amazing fashion designer wife deserves a break."

Ladybug sighed, relaxing back into her chair, deciding it was best to not continue protesting. She was flattered, and was indeed incredibly tired from all of the hard work she had to deal with at her fashion business lately. The autumn line was coming out soon and Ladybug needed to make sure that she was on top of everything, giving certain designs the go-ahead, as well as trying to organise all of her employees. She was so grateful for this day off. She would actually get to spend some quality time with her family today, whom she worried she had been neglecting slightly these past few weeks.

Ladybug gazed guiltily at her children as they ate. However, the more she gazed at her children, the more Ladybug felt herself frowning in confusion. Her life…it was…everything she had ever wanted. She was a famous fashion designer, married to the love of her life and had three beautiful children. It was the life that she had always imagined for herself when she was younger. But for some reason it felt… _off_. Ladybug would even go as far to say it felt… _wrong_.

Ladybug shook her head.

No.

Her life was perfect and she should be grateful; it was wrong to doubt it.

Yes, her life was indeed perfect, Ladybug thought happily to herself as she ate breakfast with the family she had always wanted. Chat wasn't kidding when he said he was going to spoil her. He sorted the children out all by himself, shooting her a glare whenever she attempted to intervene and help out. It still hardly seemed fair though. Chat had been doing most of the work with their children lately, so wasn't it more appropriate for her to be doing most of the work with them today?

Ladybug shook her head at Chat's logic. She loved him for it though.

"So!" Chat clapped his hands together once he was finished cleaning up. "What shall we do today?"

"The park!" both boys squealed, jumping out of their seats.

"'Ark!" Baby Emma tried to join in.

"The park it is then." Ladybug chuckled. "You boys better both get your shoes on then," she added as she picked Emma up out of her high chair.

The two boys instantly ran into the hallway to get their shoes on. Chat helped Ladybug put Emma into her stroller, and Ladybug laughed as Chat insisted on pushing her like an excited child. Ladybug relented, locking the front door behind them once they had all made their way outside. They passed through their front gates before walking down the street to where the park was, both boys running ahead with Ladybug keeping an eye on them, making sure they didn't stray too far away or run out into the road.

Once they arrived at the park, the two boys ran off towards the playground while Ladybug and Chat Noir both sat with Emma on the grass and watched. Ladybug kept having to make sure that Emma wasn't picking the grass and putting it in her mouth as she let her daughter begin crawling around. Ladybug leaned her head against Chat's shoulder as she watched her children. Everything was so perfect. She had achieved everything that she had wanted to out of life.

However, Ladybug still couldn't shake off that nagging feeling that something was wrong. Her life was perfect so why should something be wrong?

This park…it seemed almost…familiar.

It felt like something obvious was screaming at Ladybug at a frequency that she couldn't quite pick up.

This park…shouldn't she have been doing something?

Ladybug soon found herself on high alert for any sign of danger. There was something about this park, which she had been visiting ever since she was a small child, that was making her head hurt. It was like a memory was scratching at her brain, begging for attention, but Ladybug just couldn't quite locate it.

Was there something at work she had forgotten to do? No, surely a member of her staff would have called her if there was something she needed to do. But Ladybug felt like she was forgetting something incredibly important. And it had something to do with this park.

At those thoughts, Ladybug's vision began to blur and contort before everything around her glitched for a split second, as if she was inside a damaged video game.

Ladybug instantly stood up, beginning to panic as her terrible feeling did not vanish, even when her vision returned to normal. Ladybug felt like her heart was beating in her ears, painfully pulsing away as the world around her continued on as if nothing strange had just happened.

Had Ladybug finally cracked?

"What is it, Mari?" Chat asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Did you not just see that?" Ladybug gasped out as her eyes continued to dart around.

She instinctively reached down and pulled Emma towards her, and her eyes darted over to Hugo and Louis to make sure they were okay. They continued to play on the swings and, like everyone else, didn't seem to notice that anything weird had just happened.

"See what?" Chat started to sound slightly freaked out.

"Everything…it was like it just… _glitched_?" Ladybug tried to explain as best she could without sounding crazy.

Maybe she _was_ crazy. Hearing herself saying what happened out loud made Ladybug doubt what she had just witnessed. Chat was right. Maybe she did work too hard and now she had finally snapped.

"Looks like I was right," Chat mused, his eyebrows furrowing, "you _are_ in dire need of a break."

Ladybug sighed as she hugged Emma tighter and protectively against her chest. She looked around the park one last time before sitting back down, shuffling close to Chat slightly, but her heart refused to calm down. Ladybug had never felt more alert. Alarms were blaring inside her mind, and her gut kept screaming and clawing at her. All Ladybug could coherently translate from it was that something was dreadfully wrong.

Goosebumps rose on Ladybug's skin as the atmosphere felt heavy. What was it about today that had Ladybug so on edge? Everything seemed so normal yet abnormal at the same time.

The temperature dropped, and Ladybug began to see her breath in front of her as the warm air from her lungs collided with the now much cooler air around her. No one else seemed phased though. Everything seemed to glitch violently again, zig zagging lines flashing across her vision like a bad television reception. Everyone else in the park, including her children seemed to freeze in place, their faces flickering and blurring like static. Their features melted away, and their eyes, noses and mouths were replaced with deep black holes. The abysses which had appeared on their faces turned towards Ladybug, staring at her, cold and empty.

Sweat dripping from her brow, Ladybug slowly looked down to see that Emma had the exact same dark holes in her face, and was staring up at her with an expressionless look on her void covered face.

Ladybug screamed and darted upright, backing up slowly as her blue eyes scanned everyone's faces. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut before opening them again, praying that this was some sort of hallucination due to her exhausted and stressed state.

That wasn't the case though. The dark voids on the faces of everyone around her remained, and they all tilted their heads to the side in unison as they continued to stare at her.

"Marinette, what's wrong?!" Chat cried out in alarm as he stood up, not seeming to notice the fact that his baby daughter had giant holes in her face.

Chat, however, apart from Ladybug, seemed to be the only remaining normal person. His handsome features remained perfect with no black holes on his face to be seen.

Ladybug's reply became stuck behind a lump of intense fear in her throat. The sky was now stained a blood red colour, and the world around her growing dark as the people in the park began to slowly walk towards her, their arms outstretched is if wanting to grab her. Ladybug backed away, and Chat's eyes widened in alarm.

"Marinette, please!" he begged, slowly taking a cautious step towards her, his expression unsure and terrified.

"Do you not see them?!" Ladybug finally managed to shriek out.

"See what?"

"Their faces!" Ladybug screamed, moving her hands up to grip her hair as her eyes remained wide, wild and terror-stricken. "This isn't right, this world isn't right."

"No, Marinette, everything is fine," Chat tried to reason with her.

"It's all wrong!" Marinette shrieked before closing her eyes tightly shut and covering her head with her hands in the hopes of keeping her obviously fracturing mind together.

A loud screech suddenly echoed around her, like finger nails pressing and sliding firmly down a chalk board. Instinctively, Ladybug covered her ears, unable to control the tears of pure fear that brewed in her eyes. Ladybug had never been in a situation like this before; she didn't know what to do. It was like she was living in a nightmare.

Wait a second…nightmare…dream…

The latter word echoed around in her head in a familiar male voice that she felt like she had recently heard. Dream…that word felt like it held some significant importance, but it felt like the memory was just out of her reach.

Ladybug nearly jumped out of her skin when warm arms wrapped around her. She opened her eyes to see Chat's black leather covered chest obstructing her vision. He embraced her tightly, resting his cheek against the top of her head before giving her forehead a gentle kiss and pulling away slightly so he could look at her. Ladybug remained trembling in his arms, and tears stained her cheeks which startled Chat even more.

"A-Adrien?" Ladybug stuttered out, checking to make sure he was real.

"Marinette, will you please tell me what is going on?" Chat pleaded with her, placing a finger under her chin and making her look him in the eyes.

As she gazed into Chat Noir's eyes, something clicked. _Chat Noir_. Why was she calling Chat Noir by Adrien's name? That wasn't his name. She did not know Chat Noir's real name. It was almost as if the reality around her was behaving like a…dream.

 _That's it!_

The memories of fighting Dreamscape thrusted themselves violently to the forefront of her mind, like a car crashing into a wall at one hundred miles an hour. The force sent Ladybug's mind reeling as everything came rushing back to her. She must have been hit by one of his canvases. No wonder everything had seemed so perfect. He had given her visions of her dream life!

"This isn't real," Ladybug whispered, gripping Chat Noir's leather suit so tightly that if it had been made from any other material, Ladybug was sure to have ripped it.

"What?" Chat asked.

"This isn't real," Ladybug repeated, louder this time.

She slowly loosened her grip on Chat's suit and began slowly backing away. Chat's eyes grew even more pained and panicked as Ladybug continued to take slow steps backwards. The world around them had melted into pure darkness to a point in which all Ladybug could see was the glow of Chat Noir's pain filled green eyes. The Chat Noir in front of her sure seemed to be the best illusion in her dreams right now.

"I'm being toyed with," Ladybug whispered to herself.

"You can't leave me! Not now, not after everything!" Chat suddenly called out to her, sounding like a man on the brink of losing everything, shocking Ladybug to a brief standstill.

No. _He wasn't real_ , Ladybug kept telling herself. This illusion was just to keep her distracted so she wouldn't be able to stop Dreamscape.

"You mean the everything that wasn't even real!" Ladybug called out back to him, their voices echoing in the void.

"But we could have that again!" Chat begged, it sounded like he was holding back tears. "It was all real, and it could all be real again!"

Ladybug growled. This magic was amazingly strong and real sounding.

"I am not a toy to be played with."

With that, Ladybug turned her back on the now dim glow of Chat Noir's desperate and pleading eyes and took off running. Where she would run to, she didn't know. She just knew that she needed to find a way to escape this nightmare and back to sanity. Paris needed her, and she was technically sleeping on the job right now.

Looking frantically around in the darkness for some form of light, Ladybug kept running, even as her lungs started to burn and protest. Her muscles pleaded with her to stop and rest, but Ladybug knew she couldn't afford to. Much to her frustration, her movements felt like they were going slower and slower each passing second. It was beginning to feel like she was running underwater. She thrashed her arms forward in an attempt to drag herself along in what felt like a thickening air.

It didn't work, and Ladybug continued to flail around in vexation, trying in vain to make herself move faster, or at least at a normal running pace. The void around her was deathly silent, causing Ladybug's ears to ring and creepily allowed her to even hear her own blood pumping through her body.

As she continued to run ever so slowly forward, a very dim yellow light began to appear in the distance. Ladybug found herself sighing slightly in relief at the sight of something other than pure darkness, though she still remained petrified and cautious as she continued to run towards it. The light grew brighter and larger as Ladybug approached. Her movement began to return to a normal pace and she no longer felt like she was running in slow motion.

However, Ladybug froze when something cold and wet touched the back of her neck. Now at a standstill, Ladybug slowly touched the back of her neck, sighing slightly in relief as she felt her familiar pigtails in their usual place; her normal sixteen-year-old body was back.

Ladybug carefully touched the tiny wet patch on the back of her neck before pulling her fingers away to inspect them. A tiny water droplet sat on her finger with small ice crystals inside that continued to melt against the heat of her body. Ladybug gazed upwards into the dark void to see more tiny little flakes of snow falling down.

Feeling unnerved, Ladybug pressed on, walking now instead of running in order to pay closer attention to what was ahead of her.

The closer she got to the yellow light, the larger the snowflakes became, and the heavier they fell. Soon, Ladybug felt like she was walking through a blizzard. She could feel the cold through her suit, though it didn't bother her too much. Her breath came out in wispy puffs of smoke that swirled gracefully in front of her face before disappearing, and layers of snow appeared beneath her feet, becoming deep enough to almost reach Ladybug's knees.

She trudged onwards through it, confused and scared over what was happening, but at the same time, morbidly curious. Was she still dreaming? Had she finally found a way out only to teleport to the top of a mountain?

The latter seemed to be the most likely case. Or, at least, she was definitely on a mountain.

The ground beneath her sloped to such an angle, that Ladybug had a challenging time walking straight without slipping and falling. The sky was dark and stormy, with snow blowing all around her, making it difficult for Ladybug to see more than a few feet in front of her. The light was still visible though, and Ladybug used it as her beacon of guidance, like a lost ship would use a lighthouse.

Ladybug couldn't help but become transfixed by the light ahead of her. It was like it was calling to her, the light's warmness reaching into her very soul, begging for her to approach. Ladybug could not resist the call of this siren.

As the wind howled around her, Ladybug suddenly couldn't help but halt at the sight of something red. The snow just in front of her was stained crimson red by, what Ladybug assumed with a pounding heart, blood. A trail of blood.

Ladybug's eyes followed the stains of fresh blood that seeped into the pure whiteness of the snow, and realised with a gasp that it was leading directly to the yellow light in the distance. Did she dare continue to follow it now? Maybe someone needed her help? At that sinking thought, Ladybug's superhero instincts couldn't help but kick in, and her mind was instantly made up.

Ladybug continued on.

The blood stains in the snow became thicker and larger, and Ladybug bit her lip, starting to feel slightly faint at the sight. The wind and snow continued to pound against her body, like tiny, powerful cold fists punching every inch of her. Her face was beginning to feel numb, and she wrapped her arms around herself both for warmth and as a source of comfort.

The yellow light grew even bigger and brighter. Ladybug's eyes widened slightly before squinting again to protect them from the storm as she heard what sounded like a woman sobbing. Ladybug was not alone. Someone was definitely out here, hurt, and maybe even as lost as she was.

The cries were gargled and slightly animalistic, at times sounding almost like a wounded bird. The closer Ladybug got to the light, the more she could start to make out what looked like a hunched over hooded figure. That's when Ladybug realised the source of the light. It was a lantern. The hunched figure was sat next to it, facing away from Ladybug, a pool of bright, fresh, red blood flowed into the snow around her, forming a lake around her.

At that sight, Ladybug froze.

The woman didn't seem to notice her presence. She just continued to cry in a pain that was indescribable. Whoever this person was, they sounded like the most tortured soul on the planet.

Ladybug found herself too terrified to say anything and remained as frozen as the snow and ice around her. Something deep inside Ladybug was screaming at her to _run!_ Run away and never look back. Ladybug fought it off though. This woman was clearly in a lot of pain and seriously injured; she needed Ladybug's help.

Cautiously, Ladybug took a step forward, bracing herself slightly as the deep snow crunched beneath her foot.

The woman did not react.

Growing slightly more confident, Ladybug took another few steps forward before stopping just beyond arm's reach of the mysterious woman. Again, the woman did not move, seemingly still not noticing Ladybug's presence. Her dark blue cloak billowed out around her in the intense wind, though her figure and features remained hidden.

Ladybug jumped as she threw her head back and let out a scream of pure, unadulterated agony. The sound tore at Ladybug's heart, and her compassionate nature cried out for her to help this poor woman while her instincts continued to hold her back. The woman's scream continued to echo throughout the mountains, bouncing off the snow before it was carried many miles by the racing wind.

Ladybug's ears rang slightly when it was all over, and she moved to take a step around her to view the woman from the front. As the young hero slowly side stepped around her, the woman's face still remained hidden in her cloak, though the cloak had opened up slightly at the front.

The sight that greeted Ladybug made her gasp loudly and gag simultaneously.

The woman was crouched on her knees, only the top half of her body dressed in a shirt. What skin of her bare legs was visible was as pale as the snow around them. The rest was dripping in thick blood, and it cascaded down her legs like the waterfalls of hell. The woman's hands covered her crotch where the blood appeared to be oozing out from.

The strange woman screamed again, and Ladybug stumbled back slightly before falling onto her back in the snow. Panicking that the woman was now not in her line of sight, Ladybug quickly whipped her head around to gaze back at the woman again. Though her hood remained covering her head, Ladybug felt every nerve of her body turn to ice at the sight of two bright orange eyes staring menacingly at her from beneath the hood.

As her blue eyes locked with the glowing orange ones of the woman in front of her, Ladybug cried out in fear as she felt a warm arm lock around her waist and begin pulling her away at lightning speed. The stormy mountain shrank and faded away as warm thin fingers stroked through her hair soothingly. Ladybug couldn't bring herself to fight against the warm presence that had whisked her away from that awful scene.

She closed her eyes gently in relief, beginning to relax slightly. Maybe she was finally getting out of this awful nightmare. With eyes still closed, Ladybug felt like the world around her had begun to spin, and the warm arms around her disappeared before being replaced by a solid, hard surface that she seemed to be laying down on.

Ladybug's eyes snapped open, revealing a starry sky above her and when she looked to her left, the view of the dark silhouettes of Parisian buildings greeted her. All was quiet and calm, not a beep of a horn or the rev of an engine.

 _Oh no. Not again!_

At the realisation of what was going on, Ladybug darted upright and leapt to her feet. This all felt way too uncomfortably familiar to her at this point. Her blue eyes scanned all around her before resting on two glowing green cat-like eyes between two tall chimneys. With a grin on his face, Chat Noir slowly stepped forward, his hands clasped casually behind his back. Ladybug frowned at him and took and automatic step back.

At this, Chat Noir frowned.

"What is it with you and running away from me lately?" he asked with a hint of betrayed annoyance.

"I – I just…" Ladybug then squashed her guilt down and her frown deepened. "This isn't real…none of this is real."

Chat merely chuckled, continuing to walk closer. Ladybug took a step back for each step forward that he took, and soon she found her back colliding with a chimney behind her. She was trapped. Like cornered prey, Ladybug began to panic, and it felt like her heart might thud directly out of her chest when Chat stopped directly in front of her, blocking her escape. He gently raised one gloved hand to stroke her cheek softly and lightly, barely touching her, but the electricity it sent pulsing through her body had Ladybug instantly melting and weak at the knees. Chat smiled at her obvious reaction to his touch.

"Does this feel real to you?" he asked, and Ladybug gulped and nodded, making Chat Noir's smile widen even more. "How could you think that anything we had together was fake?" His tone carried an element of impossible to conceal hurt.

Ladybug found herself in a confused, tingling mess, lost for words. Chat raised his hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of Ladybug's face, his eyes gentle and loving. Ladybug found herself unable to tear herself away and fight back at the illusion. Everything about him felt so real. The warm feeling of his chest that barely brushed her own, the feel of his left hand on her waist, and his right hand that came back down to rest on her cheek. Even his thick delectable scent hung in the air around her, submerging her, drowning her.

It was all too much. He was the forbidden fruit that she just had to take a bite of. In that moment, Chat was everything she ever wanted and _more._ He was an oasis in the middle of a vast, dry desert. A warm light of a fire in a dark, stormy night. He was all she ever _needed._

With a gasp, their lips collided together hungrily and passionately. They gripped each other tightly, as if afraid they would drift apart from each other. Chat traced his tongue around Ladybug's lips, begging for entrance, and she was more than happy to oblige. She gripped his soft, gold locks tightly, pulling him impossibly close to her while his hands traced around her waist and up the small of her back. Unfortunately, they both needed to breath, and they eventually slowly pulled back from each other, panting for air as their eyes remained hooded as they gazed at each other.

However, Ladybug's gaze couldn't help but be briefly captured by something glowing brightly just behind Chat Noir's shoulder. The stars above them began morphing from twinkling points of light into round, glowing orange eyes. Ladybug found herself completely bound to their gaze, unable to look away or move even a millimetre. Her whole body became stiff, and it felt like Ladybug was forced into the back of her own mind, losing all feeling and control over her own body.

The orange eyes continued to stare at her, unblinking and hypnotically. Out of nowhere, Ladybug felt an intense anger consuming her, setting her whole body ablaze that could only be extinguished by the removal of Chat Noir's ring.

Of its own accord, and startlingly without any input from Ladybug, her hand reached down to Chat's that was still wrapped around her waist.

Chat gasped at the sudden change in Ladybug's eyes and the feel of her hand slowly reaching for his ring. He immediately jumped back, and Ladybug growled in frustration and pain. Every cell inside her burned, screaming at her to get his miraculous. She wanted it. She needed it. Those two phrases whirled around her mind, continuing to chant like a mantra. It was all her mind, body and soul could focus on.

Chat Noir's eyes widened in fear and concern before he jumped out of the way as Ladybug once again attempted to make a swipe at him and obtain his miraculous. She could see the betrayal, hurt and confusion in his eyes, but Ladybug didn't care. Spurred on by that thought, Ladybug leapt towards him and he easily dodged, beginning to make a run for the Eiffel Tower which loomed darkly in the distance. Ladybug followed, crying out wildly as she chased him up the tower, leaping from one thick metal bar to the next.

Once they reached the top, Ladybug gasped as she finally managed to regain some semblance of control after seeing the vulnerable expression on Chat's face.

What was she doing?! Why was she hunting down her partner for his miraculous? She wasn't interested in his power. Ladybug could feel the fire that had possessed her pushing against her free will in an attempt to regain control again, but Ladybug forced it back just enough to make a snap decision.

"T-this is all j-just a dream," she managed to gasp out, "I-I h-have to p-put an end to t-this."

"What are you talking about?" Chat demanded, gazing at her worriedly.

"None of t-this is real," Ladybug continued, "y-you're not real."

Ladybug knew there was only one way to forcibly wake yourself up from a dream.

She frowned in determination as she peered down at the insane drop below them, continuing to lose the fight against the raging inferno that had her wanting Chat's miraculous.

No more.

She needed to stop this and save Paris.

Chat Noir followed her line of sight before his eyes widened as he realised what Ladybug was thinking.

"Ladybug, NO!" Chat screamed as he reached to grab her.

He was too late though. Ladybug flung herself off the edge of the top balcony of the Eiffel Tower.

She let her body fall limply in the air like a rag doll, ignoring Chat Noir's screams above her.

The city buildings, roads and trees began to disintegrate into blue and orange feathers around her as she fell faster and faster through the air and into the dark void below.

* * *

 **Normally, I wouldn't apologise for leaving things on a bit of a cliffhanger, but this time, I actually am sorry, because I have no idea when I'll be able to update again. It'll definitely be sometime over the next week or two, but as for what day exactly I couldn't tell you. I've really fallen behind in my work and need to catch up. I'm really sorry about all this, guys.**

 **But yeah, that was one hell of an acid trip of a chapter – a hell of a lot to digest. As always let me know what you all think in a review, and I'll hopefully see you soon.**


	15. Bad Omen

**Yo! I'm back again and I wanted to thank you guys for being so patient with me. I'm still kinda swamped with work, although I'm finally catching up, so I finally found some time to write. Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, its means a lot to me.**

 **TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains descriptions of a panic attack.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Bad Omen**

When Ladybug's eyes snapped open, she immediately closed them again, groaning as she was blinded by the intense white light in front of her. She was drenched in cold sweat, and her chest heaved with her laboured breathing. Raising her arms protectively above her head, Ladybug slowly opened her eyes again, and in front of her was nothing but a blank whiteness. It then dawned on Ladybug that she was lying down, and she quickly bolted upright. In that instance, all her memories came flooding back to her.

Ladybug had been right. It had all just been a dream.

Ladybug repressed her shaken and traumatised feelings from her ordeal as her eyes began darting around, trying to figure out where exactly she was now. Was she still dreaming?

However, Ladybug soon let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw Chat's unconscious form not far from her. She immediately sprang to her feet and ran towards him before dropping down onto her knees next to him. Chat Noir was curled into a tight ball, fast asleep, his face scrunched up into a tense expression, and every so often, he would let out a whimper.

Desperate to free her partner from Dreamscape's spell, Ladybug began gently shaking him.

"Chat!" she yelled at him when her gentle shaking didn't work. "Chat!"

She began shaking him harder this time, and at last, his eyes snapped open, bulging slightly as he looked around in shock, horror and confusion before his green cat-like eyes finally settled on Ladybug's face.

"L-Ladybug?" he stuttered out.

Some of his blond locks stuck to the sweat on his brow as he stared at Ladybug in terror and confusion.

Ladybug sighed with relief before smiling down at him. "Wakey wakey, Kitty."

"Ladybug!" Chat gasped out again before he yanked her down without warning, holding onto her tightly and burying his face in her neck.

He clung onto her for what felt like dear life, his entire body trembling, and he sniffed as if he was trying to repress a sob. What on earth had he been dreaming about? Unable to find it in her heart to push him away for overstepping her boundaries, especially with everything that had happened between them lately, Ladybug wrapped her arms around him in return, feeling like she needed a little bit of comfort herself after everything she too had experienced.

She gently stroked his hair as he continued to hold back sobs.

"Sssh," Ladybug warmly and gently comforted him.

"I thought I'd lost you," she heard Chat mumble into her dark hair, the vibration of his voice tickling her neck slightly as he nuzzled into her.

Strange…Ladybug had nearly died in her own dream, throwing herself off the top of the Eiffel Tower like she did. However, Ladybug knew it was very highly unlikely they experienced the same dream. They both had different dreams and aspirations in life. Maybe Chat had realised what was happening like she had, and it morphed into some kind of twisted nightmare for him as well.

That sure was some powerful akuma magic.

"I'm fine, Chat, I'm right here," Ladybug did her best to reassure him while images from her own dream began to bombard her.

The glitching, the dark void, those orange eyes watching her, the blood soaked lady on the mountain side…her attacking Chat. Those last two startled Ladybug the most. Who was that woman? Why in the world would she dream about something like that? Those orange eyes she possessed…they looked just like the eyes she saw in the sky before she suddenly felt the uncontrollable urge to attack Chat Noir and steal his miraculous. Had she been…akumatized or something?

The memories caused Ladybug to begin shaking slightly too, and she pulled away from Chat slightly to look around, focusing on the task at hand as a distraction. Everywhere around them was just a white emptiness.

"I see you've managed to wake up," a loud, booming voice came from above them. "I hope you had sweet dreams."

Ladybug and Chat Noir instantly gazed upwards at where the voice was coming from. It looked like there was a window miles and miles above them. A window to the outside world. Dreamscape was grinning down at them, and that's when it dawned on Ladybug: they were trapped inside his canvas.

"Let us out, Dreamscape!" Ladybug demanded.

Dreamscape pretended to think for a moment before smirking again. "I'll tell you what, I'll let you live in your dream world forever if you hand me your miraculous."

"That wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare!" Ladybug snapped, struggling to contain the shudder as orange eyes stared at her from inside her memory, sending a chill down her spine.

Dreamscape rolled his eyes. "Only because you became self-aware. Your subconscious went haywire, affecting my magic."

Ladybug glared at him. "So, it _was_ you who gave me those horrifying visions."

That made Ladybug relax slightly. There was no woman trapped on a mountain bleeding to death, and she wasn't going to betray Chat Noir and try to steal his miraculous. They were all just dreams and visions conjured up by Dreamscape to toy with her and keep her trapped in her dreams so she wouldn't be able to stop him.

However, Dreamscape's next words gave Ladybug the most intense sinking feeling she had ever experienced.

"I didn't do all that," Dreamscape explained, looking annoyed and impatient. "I have no idea what you all dreamed about, my magic only absorbed you and sent you into a deep sleep where you dreamed about your desires and your memories, using your subconscious against you to keep you occupied."

"What?" Ladybug gasped, her eyes widening slightly with fear and confusion.

Chat shot her a weird look, but Ladybug ignored it.

"Time is running out, Ladybug and Chat Noir," Dreamscape mocked, "hand over your miraculous, and in exchange, you can live in your dream world forever with no nightmares to corrupt them this time; just endless perfection." Dreamscape held his hand out, waiting.

"In your _dreams._ " Chat smirked, making Dreamscape growl in frustration before he grinned again.

"Fine, since you're still trapped in there, I can just personally hand you over to Hawkmoth myself," he explained, shrugging his shoulders in apathy before Ladybug and Chat Noir felt him pick up the canvas they were trapped in, ready to be taken to Hawkmoth.

"I hope you have a plan, my lady," Chat whispered to her nervously. "Hey, do you think I should use my cataclysm to get us out of here?"

Ladybug shook her head. "Not sure I want to risk it with us both inside."

Ladybug then grabbed her yo-yo that was attached to her waist and swung it into the air.

"Lucky charm!" She called out before catching the item that had been created. Ladybug looked down in confusion. Some paint and a paintbrush. What was she supposed to do with these?

"I hope you've _brushed up_ on your painting skills, my lady," Chat remarked as he too stared at the items in confusion.

Ladybug stared down at the paints and then at Chat Noir's ring, then back at the paints again. She had been given three colours: red, black and green.

 _That's it!_

"I've got it! Chat, you're a genius!" Ladybug smiled excitedly as she dipped the paintbrush into the black paint.

"I am? I mean, of course I am! Wait…what did I do?" Chat asked, watching as Ladybug then moved the paintbrush in a circle through the air, the black paint staining the canvas they were trapped in.

Ladybug stuck her tongue out in concentration as she painted the inner circle. Every so often her eyes would dart to Chat's ring as she copied it out in front of her, right down to the last detail, making sure it was actual size. She then smirked as she saw Chat's eyes light up as he realised what she was doing when she dipped the paintbrush into the green paint.

"I think I'm starting to _get the picture_ now."

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but otherwise continued painting, moving onto her earrings as soon as she was done painting the green paw print that glowed brightly on Chat Noir's ring. Painting her miraculous was a little easier, just two simple red circles with black dots on the inside. When she was done, Ladybug wiped her forehead and stepped back slightly, away from the floating realistic paintings in front of her.

Chat Noir let out a low whistle.

"I never knew you had a talent for art, LB," he praised as he admired her handy work. "Those look really good."

"Thanks." Ladybug then turned to Chat, ready to give him his instructions, however she froze when she caught sight of him, stiff as a plank of wood, staring at her intensely.

Ladybug frowned at him as he looked like he was trying to solve a complicated math problem in his head. He appeared to be freaking out slightly, which spooked Ladybug, but she knew that they both had a job to do.

She snapped her fingers in front of Chat's line of sight which made him jump and snap out of it.

"Earth to Chat," Ladybug called, and Chat looked at her nervously before looking away again, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

Ladybug wondered what had him so freaked out all of a sudden, however, now was not the time to ask. They needed to defeat Dreamscape before he managed to bring them both to Hawkmoth.

"Okay," Ladybug began, grabbing hold of Chat's arm and pulling him towards the painting of his miraculous, "just put your hand behind it to make it look like you're holding it."

Chat nodded, doing as he was told. Ladybug did the same thing before whistling to attract Dreamscape's attention. It worked, and he paused before peering down into the canvas before glaring down at them. Ladybug waved before gesturing to the painted miraculous just in front of her hand, making sure to keep the paint pots hidden behind her legs.

"Look Dreamscape, you win." Ladybug put on a fake defeated voice. "We'll give you our miraculous if you let us out."

She pointed to the fake earrings she was pretending to hold. Ladybug and Chat Noir then both held their breath, hoping with everything in them that Dreamscape would buy it. The akumatized artist narrowed his eyes at them before squinting even more in an effort to try and see the miraculous jewellery in their hands. He then smirked, and Ladybug's heart thudded loudly in her chest at the suspense.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Dreamscape mocked, and soon a bright light surrounded both Ladybug and Chat Noir.

When they opened their eyes, Ladybug realised they were back in the park. Hardly any time appeared to have passed from the time she was captured until now. Her dreams had felt like they had lasted for hours, but in reality, it seemed like only a few seconds had gone by. It was slightly disorientating.

Ladybug shook off the dizzying sensation before smirking at Dreamscape. His eyes went immediately to their hands, and his face dropped slightly when he realised the miraculous weren't there. Ladybug heard her earrings beep, and she knew she had to get this over and done with quickly now.

"Your miraculous! Where are they?!" Dreamscape demanded before looking back at the canvas where the small paintings remained. "How…?"

"I'll take that!" Chat laughed as he snatched the canvas up before bringing his knee up to break it in half. It snapped neatly in two, and the dark purple butterfly instantly began trying to make a break for it.

Ladybug swung her yo-yo, easily catching the little creature and de-evilizing it before releasing it back into the air, now a pure white colour. With a satisfied smile, Ladybug grabbed hold of her lucky charm paint set and tossed it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The power of creation began fixing all the damage caused by the akuma. People were released, disorientated and confused, from the other canvases, and the one Chat Noir broke was fixed. Dreamscape soon transformed back into the artist who began looking around in shock and confusion. Ladybug walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The artist looked back up at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"I wouldn't let the words of one disgruntled customer get to you," Ladybug comforted him, "you're a fantastic artist."

"Thanks, Ladybug," the artist replied as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off.

He gave Ladybug and Chat Noir one final wave of thanks before heading over to his equipment that was scattered all over the ground and began picking it up. Ladybug smiled, glad that this akuma attack was all over. This was definitely up there with one of the most powerful and dangerous akumas they had faced.

Memories of her nightmares continued to dance around in her head. Those orange eyes now seemed to be eternally watching her from inside her mind, burning into her very soul. The more Ladybug thought about it, there more familiar the lady on the mountain seemed. But…surely Ladybug had never met anyone like that before? Ladybug had never been trapped in a snow storm on a mountain, so why was it starting to feel like…almost like…she'd been there before?

"Everything alright, my lady?" Chat's concerned voice snapped her out of her daydreaming, and Ladybug shook her head rapidly before looking back at Chat nervously.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

Chat sighed, his eyes cast down to the ground. He looked completely worn-out, nervous and apprehensive, causing Ladybug to raise an eyebrow at him curiously.

"Listen, Ladybug, I –"

Ladybug's ear beeped its second to last warning, interrupting Chat Noir, and causing Ladybug to begin panicking and flailing slightly.

"Sorry, Chat, I gotta go!" Ladybug hurriedly gasped out. "Good job today! I hope you're okay! I gotta go, see you soon!"

Ladybug ran off as fast as she could. Luckily, the park was now pretty much deserted after the akuma attack, and Ladybug soon found a large enough tree to duck behind just in time for her transformation to drop. Tikki flew out of her earrings, and Marinette held her hands out to catch the exhausted kwami.

"Are you alright, Tikki?" Marinette asked worriedly.

Tikki rubbed her head, and her blue eyes remained hooded and tired.

"Yeah, I'm fine…what about you?" Tikki asked the last part a little more slowly.

Oh, right, Marinette thought to herself, Tikki would have likely seen everything that happened. That made Marinette incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassed. What must Tikki think of her?

Marinette decided to ignore her question. "I'll get us home and get you some food."

Marinette thought she was just about ready to face her parents now after all that. She wasn't sure what she'd say to them the minute she got through the door, she just knew that getting Tikki some food was her priority, as Marinette, in her haste to leave, unfortunately hadn't packed anything to take with her like she normally did at this point.

Marinette gently placed Tikki back in her purse, and that's when a thought dawned on her.

"Adrien!" Marinette cried out, gripping her black hair tightly before darting back out from behind the tree.

She needed to make sure he was okay!

Running wildly through the park, Marinette finally reached the tree where she remembered hiding Adrien. She darted to the other side of the thick tree trunk to find that Adrien was gone. Marinette began panicking even more, her breathing becoming laboured after her mad sprint and fear as to where Adrien could have gone. Had he been captured at some point?

"Marinette, there you are!" a relieved, familiar voice called out behind her.

Marinette turned around with wide eyes before letting out a huge sigh of relief. Adrien sprinted towards her, a worried look on his face. Marinette expected him to stop in front of her, but was caught off guard when he kept going and reached out to wrap his arms around her. Marinette gasped, freezing in both fear and delight as she felt his warm arms grip her tightly. She then couldn't resist melting into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him in return and burying her face in his chest, listening to the rapid beating of his heart.

Marinette wanted to groan in annoyance when he pulled away all too soon, but she managed to hide her disappointment. Adrien carefully looked her over while Marinette stared back at him in confusion.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked, seeming slightly frantic. "Ladybug said she got you to safety?"

His tone on the last question was slightly flat, though Marinette managed to catch the suspicious edge to it. Was he seriously still suspecting she was Ladybug or something? Marinette couldn't believe her rotten luck and own stupidity. If she hadn't crashed into Adrien's window that one damn time, none of this would have happened. Marinette really needed to put in more effort to put him off the idea.

"Yeah, she did. I came over here to look for you as soon as it was all over," Marinette half-lied.

Adrien raised a blond eyebrow. "How did you know Ladybug hid me over here?"

Marinette's eyes widened, and she almost went into cardiac arrest. So much for putting in more effort to make him less suspicious.

"I…saw her…carry you over here," Marinette managed to come up with a believable enough lie.

Adrien's eyebrow lowered, and he sighed before his grip on her shoulders loosened, his hands falling limply to his sides. Honestly, he looked like a total wreck at the moment, almost as bad as how Chat Noir looked after their ordeal with the akuma. Maybe Adrien had been captured and he ended up having really bad nightmares too? Marinette knew she couldn't afford to ask though. There was no way she would be able to know about the whole dreams and nightmare experience. Plus, she had Tikki to think about right now as well. Her poor kwami was exhausted and needed food.

"I should probably get going," Adrien mumbled miserably. "My father will start wondering where I am."

Marinette sighed. "Yeah I should head off too. I think I've had enough excitement for one day."

Adrien then perked up a little bit, smiling down at her, although it looked slightly forced. "So, you still up for that tutoring on Monday?"

"YES!" Marinette clamped a hand over her mouth, her face erupting into a bright shade of red while Adrien stumbled back slightly, startled. "I mean…sure…I'm down for that," Marinette then added a little _too_ casually.

"Err…great!" Adrien beamed once he got over the initial shock of Marinette's random, excited outburst. "I'll see you on Monday then."

He began slowly walking away with his hands in his pockets, and Marinette continued to stare at his retreating form dreamily. However, Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin when Adrien turned back around. Marinette quickly pretended that she hadn't been staring and started doing an exaggerated walk in the direction of her parents' bakery like a cartoon character.

Marinette cringed at her own dorkiness.

Adrien gave her a weird look before smiling and waving. "And good luck with your little problem by the way."

This made Marinette cringe even more. She had been on the verge of forgetting about that for one sweet moment, and now the guilt had begun gnawing away at her again like a ravenous piranha. She smiled and waved back as best she could, her cheeks permanently stained a tomato red, making Marinette wish that the ground could just swallow her up right there.

"Thank you!" Marinette called back to him, and Adrien seemed to reluctantly turn away before heading down to the park's other main exit.

Marinette then let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding, her whole body slouching slightly as she began mentally kicking herself for being so awkward again. _Oh no!_ What if Adrien didn't want to tutor her now?! Marinette honestly wouldn't blame him. She was so awkward and weird and clumsy and…

A gentle tap coming from inside her purse snapped Marinette right out of her panicked trance. It was as if Tikki had read her mind and knew that Marinette was busy internally freaking out. That, or her kwami just knew her really well by this point. That thought made Marinette realise that maybe she did have a slight problem.

That's when all of Marinette's miserable thoughts came flooding back into her mind. All that she could do now was confront the problem and go home. She couldn't stay out here and avoid her mother forever.

Reluctantly, Marinette began making her way home. The sight of her family's bakery didn't feel welcoming this time, instead, it felt more ominous. Sighing, Marinette crossed the road and pushed on the door to enter the bakery. The door didn't budge though. It was locked? Marinette's eyes then drifted towards the closed sign that hung pinned to the window of the main entrance. That was odd. Her father usually only closed early on Sundays.

Now feeling incredibly anxious, Marinette took her keys out of her purse and hesitantly unlocked the door before walking in and closing it behind her, locking it again.

"Papa?" Marinette called out into the dark, empty bakery.

No response.

Both of her parents must be upstairs then. The house was eerily quiet as Marinette made her way up the flight of stairs that led to their apartment above the bakery. The hallways were dark, and Marinette paused when she heard hushed whispering coming from the other side of the front door.

"Do you think she's told her?" she heard her father's voice whisper, slightly panicked.

Sabine sighed.

"I think Marinette would have a lot to say to us if she had been told, Tom," Sabine responded, sounding slightly annoyed.

Marinette was now officially intrigued. What on earth were they talking about? Were they…were they hiding something from her?

"I'm sorry," Tom rushed to apologise, "I'm just…I can't believe she found us after all these years."

Marinette frowned, pressing her ear against the wood of the door to hear better. She felt Tikki pop her little head out of her purse to listen in as well, the red kwami looked just as confused and intrigued as Marinette did.

"Do you think we should tell her?" Tom asked.

"No!" Sabine immediately yelled, causing Marinette to jump away from the door slightly as her ears rang at the sudden loud noise. "We were instructed not to!"

"But the game has changed Sabine," Tom replied.

It sounded like he was trying his best to stay as calm as possible for the both of them.

"Emilie's gone, so now it's up to us to decide what is best."

"I can't…" Sabine sounded like she was holding back sobs. "I can't go through it all again…I just can't…not after everything that happened." Sabine sniffed. "You know, sometimes when I look at her, I can see him…and it hurts so much…"

Marinette decided she'd had enough. Frowning in annoyance, she swung the front door open, and her parents stared at her like deer caught in headlights. Their eyes were wide and frantic, while her mother's were also red and puffy from tears. That sight made Marinette relax slightly, unable to maintain an angry stance while her mom was in such a state.

But still, they were clearly talking about her behind her back, and it couldn't be anything good, otherwise why would they be behaving like this? It was starting to freak Marinette out slightly. If they were hiding some sort of secret from her…what would it even be? Her parents were among the most innocent and kind-hearted people she knew, so why were they all of a sudden being so weird with her today?

"Well don't stop on my account." Marinette frowned again, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tom and Sabine shared a look before they both stood up from the couch, seemingly not knowing what to do or say.

"H-how much did you hear?" Tom asked slowly.

Marinette huffed. "Enough to know that you were talking about me and that it wasn't anything good. So come on then. What have I done? What is this big secret you need to tell me?"

Sabine wiped her eyes and plastered on a fake looking smile. "Nothing, dear."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Come on, mom, I'm not that stupid."

Marinette was really starting to lose her patience now. Did her parents honestly think she was that much of an idiot that they thought they could just sweep this under the rug and that she wouldn't want to know what was going on? That insulted Marinette slightly.

"It really is nothing, Marinette," her dad tried to reassure her, walking over and placing a large hand on her petite shoulder. "We were just talking about something that happened a long time ago."

Marinette frowned at him suspiciously. "Well, if it happened such a long time ago, then how and why does it involve me?"

"It's an old… _friend_ of mine from school many years ago," Sabine explained. "They've come back into the city and want to meet up with us as a family, only I never really liked this person, so I don't want to meet up with them. I didn't want to tell you because I thought it would be pointless."

"Then why are you so upset over it?" Marinette asked.

Sabine sighed. "Because…they bullied me at one point in school. I don't like to talk about it."

Marinette only grew angrier and angrier. "You must _really_ think I am some sort of idiot. There's one critical flaw in your story, mom. You mainly grew up in China."

Sabine bit her lip. "I am taking about when I was growing up in China."

"Then what are you talking about them being back in the city?!"

"They visited once before," Sabine answered a little too quickly, beginning to look slightly desperate.

Marinette began forcing herself to calm down. Her mother's story did add up to an extent, but it still seemed like they were lying to her, though Marinette knew that she obviously wasn't going to get anything out of them right now. She still had a hungry kwami in her purse, and it wasn't like she couldn't go snooping later on if she wanted to find out this secret that her parents seemed to be hiding.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette visibly relaxed which made her parents relax too. Sabine offered her a gentle smile which Marinette struggled to return in her current emotional state. She managed though, and it seemed to be enough to convince her mother that everything was okay. So much for talking to her parents about the work placement again. That idea seemed to be an emphatic no-go area at this point.

Still feeling freaked out, Marinette walked past her parents, still slightly in a mood with them, and began climbing the stairs up to her bedroom.

"I suppose I better go re-open the bakery," she heard her father say before she closed the hatch behind her.

Marinette dashed over to her desk and collapsed into her chair before reaching into one of the drawers to grab a cookie from the secret stash she kept for Tikki. The red kwami immediately began devouring the sweet treat, and Marinette sighed, holding her head in her hands as she gazed miserably out of the window. The memories of her nightmares once again had her full attention, and Marinette felt herself begin to uncontrollably shake.

"Hey, Marinette, shhhh, it's okay."

It was Tikki's comforting words that made Marinette realise that she had begun sobbing hysterically. The tears and shaking just would not stop, no matter how hard Marinette tried to get a grip on herself. Down and down the tears poured, all the while Tikki gave her gentle little taps on the shoulder while Marinette gasped for air as if her lungs were completely starved of oxygen. A painful lump formed in her throat, and her fingers and toes began to tingle unpleasantly to the point where it felt like Marinette could no longer feel them. Marinette continued panting desperately as she pushed away from her desk slightly, gripping onto the wood for dear life as her thoughts became one huge blurry mess. Her heart felt like it was ready to pound its way right out of her chest.

"Marinette!" Tikki shrieked in alarm. "It's okay, you're okay, ssssh, just take deep breaths."

Marinette did as instructed, taking one huge gulp of air before slowly releasing it again. She began slowly counting to ten in her head, anything to keep her mind focused and clear, and with each slow and controlled breath, she gradually felt herself beginning to calm down. Tears still flowed from her eyes, but her breathing was no longer as laboured and she still didn't feel completely calm.

Tikki gave her one last soothing stroke before pulling away to float in front of Marinette's face.

"All better?" Tikki asked.

Marinette sighed. "Not really."

Tikki let out a sigh as well. "I don't really blame you. I saw the dreams you had."

Looking down at the floor, unable to meet Tikki's eyes, Marinette sniffed pathetically. "I figured you had."

"Marinette, we need to talk about this."

"I know. That woman…she was so scary. Who was she?"

"I don't know," Tikki responded, "but that part of the dream isn't important. I never got to talk to you properly over the whole Chat Noir issue."

Marinette bit her lip, her palms began sweating nervously. "I don't understand, Tikki. I mean, you saw what happened in that one dream I had of him. I don't understand. Why was I calling him Adrien? Did my brain just get confused while I was dreaming because they're both very dear people to me? He…he felt so real."

Tikki looked away guilty, though this went unnoticed by Marinette.

"And then the next moment I'm…kissing him before I…Tikki, for some reason I just suddenly really wanted his miraculous. I didn't care if he got hurt. It was like some unseen force was controlling me. Then of course there was that dream I had the other night where Chat Noir stabbed me with a knife. Tikki, what's happening to me? Am I going mad?" Marinette's voice was desperate.

"Look, Mari…I don't mean to alarm you but…"

"But what?" Marinette demanded, slamming her hands down on her desk in frustration.

Tikki sighed, turning back to face Marinette with a very concerned, haunted and serious look on her face.

"For Ladybug and Chat Noir to have a dream in which they hurt or turn against each other is a very rare and serious phenomenon."

Marinette froze, her eyes widening in fear. "W-what do you mean, Tikki?"

Tikki's eyes narrowed, and what she said next sent deep chills down Marinette's spine.

"Marinette…this is a _very_ bad omen."

* * *

 **Oh dear oh dear. Once again thank you so much for your patience guys. I really do apologise about this unorganised mess I've gotten myself into. Again, I'm not one hundred percent sure when my next update will be, but I'm hoping for Saturday, so keep an eye out. I promise within the next week my updating schedule will go back to the typical every Wednesday and Saturday, barring nothing else happens *touches wood*. Also, shout out to my pun obsessed boyfriend for helping me write out Chat Noir's god awful puns xD.**

 **Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think in the mean time as it always helps me out. I hope you all have a lovely week!**


	16. Traumatic Past

**Greetings again everyone! I hope you've all been having a lovely week. Thank you so much for the awesome reviews! I hope this chapter has come out okay given the depressive state I seem to be in at the moment. I just didn't want to postpone writing though. I've messed you guys around with a lack of updating enough lately. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Traumatic Past**

"A bad omen?" Marinette repeated, sounding the terrifying words out on her tongue.

Those words scared her so much that Marinette didn't want to believe they were true. It would certainly explain Tikki's weird reaction when she had told her in the park earlier. The little red kwami had even begun shaking slightly, and her blue eyes became distant once again like they had in the park. Marinette stared at her, too afraid to move, her fingers still tightly gripping onto her desk.

"Tikki?" Marinette finally asked in a high pitched, frightened voice. "Please tell me what you're talking about."

Tikki snapped back out of her trance, her eyes refocusing on Marinette again before she let out a sigh. "I don't really know how much I'm allowed to tell you, Marinette. Master Fu doesn't want us kwamis to reveal too much to our chosen ones."

"But why?" Marinette asked incredulously. "I think I have the right to know about this bad omen you just told me about."

The red kwami still looked reluctant. Instead of replying, Tikki simply stared out of the window, finding the sky very interesting all of a sudden. Marinette glared at the back of Tikki's head. It was obvious her kwami had a lot to say, Marinette could practically see her companion's head ticking away, the words forming before sealed away in her mouth that was tightly clamped shut.

This really didn't seem fair. Marinette understood and accepted that Tikki had a lot of secrets; she had lived for thousands of years after all. Marinette knew she would probably never come to know even a quarter of what Tikki had locked away in her mind, so she often never bothered asking, knowing her kwami would simply remain allusive.

However, this time, Marinette really felt like she had a right to know. Tikki couldn't just drop a bombshell like that on her and then clamp up and expect Marinette to just be okay with that response. A bad omen could imply anything, though Marinette knew it wasn't good. If something bad was heading Marinette's way, then she needed to know so she could be prepared. Surely that wasn't too much to ask?

"Tikki, please!" Marinette began begging which made Tikki stiffen slightly. "If something bad is heading my way then I need to know. I need to be prepared."

Tikki slowly turned back around, gazing worriedly at Marinette which caused the young hero's heart to skip a beat. The red kwami bit her lip before relaxing slightly, though far from completely, and floated down to settle and sit down on a stack of Marinette's school textbooks. She crossed her little red legs and leaned back slightly, resting her weight on her arms before frowning as she became lost in her memories while Marinette waited patiently for her kwami to start talking.

"To even begin to start explaining, I first need to take you back a thousand years." Tikki's voice became flat and serious.

Marinette shuffled closer so she could listen better, her serious frown matching Tikki's tone.

"Back when the temple of the guardians still existed in Tibet, a Ladybug and Chat Noir closer to home were chosen. While everything was fine at first, this Ladybug and Chat Noir – though that wasn't their names, I'm just going to call them that to make it easier for you to understand – really started to clash. Their opinions differed greatly on how to handle certain matters, and their visions of justice were not the same. They had been best friends all of their lives and loved each other a great deal, but now a struggle for power and dominance was coming between them."

Marinette's eyes widened and she nodded, hinting at Tikki to continue.

Tikki shuddered as she recalled the memories. "That's when Ladybug's dreams began. She dreamed of betraying that particular Chat Noir, and of him betraying her to the point where they often murdered each other in their dreams. They really began to _hate_ and mistrust each other. But like I explained to you a few days ago, deep down, the holder of the black cat miraculous and the ladybug miraculous are so interconnected spiritually; I supposed today you'd refer to them as soulmates."

Marinette inwardly cringed at that reminder.

"They're supposed to work in harmony. Not necessarily be in love with each other or decide to be together, but always work together for the purpose of helping others and maintaining balance. When there's no longer balance, nature itself cannot cope. At the time, I did not quite realise what was going on. I kept trying to convince Ladybug to maybe talk to Chat and sort things out to at least the point where they were civil with each other."

Tikki's eyes grew even more distant as they began to glisten slightly.

"I deeply care for every Ladybug I am bestowed upon, and it was eating me up inside seeing her suffer so much and letting this hatred consume her. They kept saying such hurtful things and played mind games with each other to the point where they were no longer focused on missions. Ladybug wasn't eating or sleeping properly, and my magic could no longer work as effectively."

Okay, so Marinette definitely needed to make a note of that fact. She had no idea that her magic as Ladybug could be effected like that.

"Soon, the guardians came to know what was going on, and they were outraged at Ladybug and Chat Noir for disrespecting the laws of nature and not working in harmony. They were both summoned and ordered to hand back their miraculous. Both, of course, refused until they were forcibly taken by the guardians. Each one then started blaming the other, and they began fighting in the middle of the temple. The universe, it appeared, could no longer handle such an imbalance. That's when in the middle of their battle, a hole in the fabric of time and space opened up in the middle of the great hall. They had caused a tear in reality itself. Most of the guardians managed to get away just in time, however, as I was being carried away, all I could do was watch helplessly as my Ladybug and Chat Noir were sucked into the void, never to be seen again."

Tears began forming in Tikki's eyes and Marinette gasped, grabbing a tissue and tearing at it to make it small enough for Tikki to use. She handed it over, and Tikki accepted it with a small smile before delicately drying her eyes and letting out a final sniff before Marinette leaned back in her desk chair, her eyes wide with shock.

"I'm so sorry, Tikki," Marinette croaked out, "losing a Ladybug like that…it must have been…awful."

"It was." Tikki's voice shook slightly. "It's impossible to get used to the mortal lives that you humans possess. It's always unbearable when you ultimately pass on. But it's always even worse when you die in action and I'm powerless to do anything to stop it."

"I promise to try my best not to die on you," Marinette jokingly reassured, giving her kwami's head a gentle stroke.

Tikki chuckled, nuzzling Marinette's finger lovingly.

"You better not," Tikki played along, though there was a hint of haunting seriousness in her voice.

Marinette sighed, becoming sombre once again. "So, what happened after that? Did that tear in reality get fixed?"

"No," Tikki answered, "it remains there to this very day, and as far as I'm aware, it will never be fixed. It remains in the remnants of that room in the temple, locked away to forever remain a reminder of what happens when Ladybug and Chat Noir become imbalanced and no longer work in harmony."

"And that's the temple…where Master Fu used to be a guardian?" That thought suddenly dawned on Marinette and she just had to voice it.

Tikki slowly nodded. "Yes."

"What happened there? Why is Master Fu in France and why does he possess all of the miraculous? How did the temple get destroyed?" Marinette gushed out, relieved that she was finally getting some answers out of Tikki.

The red kwami sighed. " _That_ I'm afraid I can't tell you."

It looked like Marinette had spoken too soon which made her frown. "Why not?"

"It's not because I don't want to," Tikki rushed to explain when she saw the deep frustration on Marinette's features, "it's because I don't really _know._ "

"I don't understand."

"I was in a state of sleep then, Marinette, waiting for you to come along; my next chosen. The last time I was awake inside the temple, everything was fine as far as I can remember. Master Fu was one of the guardians at this time and had been trained since he was a young boy. All I know is that Master Fu made a mistake when he chose one of the miraculous wielders, though it's not really his fault. At the time, this person must have been the right one for the task. This person obviously must have become corrupted by the power or something. My best guess is that this person destroyed the temple." Tikki did her best to explain everything she knew.

Marinette gasped. "Then what happened to that miraculous wielder?"

"I don't think anybody really knows." Tikki frowned deep in thought.

"Then…" Marinette gulped as she looked up to stare out of her window. "This person could still be out there?"

That's when Marinette had an idea.

"Do you think it could be Hawkmoth?"

Tikki shook her head. "I don't think so. The temple was destroyed around sixteen years ago, whereas my impression is that Hawkmoth had only just recently found his miraculous when he started attacking Paris. So I highly doubt it could have been him. I don't think Hawkmoth truly understands the true full power of the miraculous either. He's knowledgeable, yes, but not to an extent where he could take down an entire temple filled with trained guardians. That would take someone with immense experience of using miraculous magic."

Marinette thought back to the box containing all of the miraculous that Master Fu had shown her. "The butterfly and the peacock are the only ones that are missing so it has to have been one of them."

"It seems likely," Tikki agreed. "That means the culprit is definitely missing in order for Hawkmoth to have found the butterfly miraculous. Their disappearance could explain why the peacock miraculous is still missing, though Master Fu believes it is in the possession of Hawkmoth."

"I don't understand." Marinette frowned. "If this person became corrupted by power, then how did they manage to lose or give up their miraculous? I can't see a power hungry experienced miraculous user going down so easily."

"Well, someone clearly must have defeated them. So that means I don't think you have anything to worry about regarding this person being out there," Tikki reassured, relaxing slightly at that logic.

"Yeah, but…who…and how? Hawkmoth maybe?" Marinette knew that was unlikely, but it was still an idea.

Maybe he was more experienced at using a miraculous than she gave him credit for. Maybe he got lucky in that one particular fight and was then able to steal the peacock miraculous? What could cause someone as strong as the person who could take on an entire temple of experience guardians to be defeated? Were they killed during this epic battle? Or did they simply go into hiding?

Tikki's story had seemed to have raised more questions than answers.

"Marinette, I just don't know," Tikki reiterated, "and do not go asking Master Fu about it. The whole experience was deeply traumatic for him. Not to mention he'll probably kill me for telling you all of this information."

Marinette sunk slightly in her seat. She hadn't really given Master Fu a thought in pretty much all of this. The poor old man blamed himself for the destruction of his people. Blamed himself for having chosen such an evil miraculous wielder. The pain that he must be living in…it just didn't bear thinking about.

Tears formed in Marinette's eyes at the thought. She really saw Master Fu in a whole new light now. The sweet and kind old man had been through so much, and yet he was willing to trust her and Chat Noir, despite what happened last time he chose a miraculous holder, to protect the people of Paris from Hawkmoth. That must have taken a lot for him to do.

This only served to make Marinette feel even more blessed. Sometimes she did slightly doubt herself as Ladybug, and felt like the responsibility was too much for her. Now, Marinette felt guilty for such feelings. She was lucky. She had gained two new friends out of it in the form of Tikki and Chat Noir, and got to experience the gratitude of the citizens of Paris. The fact that Master Fu trusted her to do that made Marinette feel incredibly touched.

"But wait…" The momentary thought of Chat Noir made Marinette realise something. "Why am I having dreams like this past Ladybug when, unlike her, I don't hate Chat Noir?"

"I don't know," Tikki whimpered nervously, "but you and Chat Noir are two halves of the same whole, so you should not be dreaming about him in this way. That's why it is a bad omen. It foretells imbalance. "

"What does it all mean?" Marinette whispered as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin against them. "I don't have any immediate plans to go betraying Chat Noir. But for some reason, in my dream, I just really wanted his miraculous."

"I know, Mari, I saw and felt everything you felt." Tikki shuddered before she froze as if remembering something vitally important. "Those orange eyes and the feathers you saw…it can't be…"

"Can't be what?"

"Those are all iconic of the peacock miraculous holder."

Marinette blinked in shock. "But I don't understand? How could I be dreaming about something I've never seen?"

"That's a very good question," Tikki slowly replied. "Are you sure you've never come across the peacock miraculous or its holder in your life? Even if you didn't realise? Are you sure you never saw someone who, looking back, might resemble the peacock miraculous holder?"

Marinette thought really hard for a few seconds before she replied.

"No. At least I don't think so."

Tikki frowned in frustration and worry. "Well, you must have at some point. People don't just dream of things like that if they've never seen them before. Remember what Dreamscape said? About pulling those visions from your memories?"

"So…what you're saying is…I have come across the peacock miraculous holder at some point in my life?" Marinette gasped, nearly falling backwards off her chair in alarm.

"It seems likely." Tikki sounded incredibly worried. "But for some reason, you don't properly remember it."

Marinette gulped. "I would have thought I'd remember something like that."

"Me too," Tikki whispered, her blue eyes narrowing in concentration.

The pair of them sat in a heavy silence for a few minutes. Marinette's heart refused to calm down after the direction this conversation had taken. She couldn't believe what Tikki was suggesting. That Marinette had at some point come face to face with the holder of the peacock miraculous. The very person who could be the one responsible for destroying the temple of the guardians and forcing Master Fu into hiding.

Marinette really wanted to ask Master Fu about this, but there was no way Tikki would let her, despite the fact that it would hopefully give them the answers they needed on this whole thing. If she had come across this person, why didn't she remember? She would have thought someone in some sort of peacock costume would stand out in her memories. Marinette clearly remembered the feathers in order for her to have dreamt about them. So what gives?

But why would Marinette even dream about them anyway? Did the peacock miraculous holder have some sort of connection to her? That seemed unlikely. Nonetheless, it was a creepy thought. The loud mess of thoughts that swirled around inside her head had Marinette curling further up into a tight ball before she started rocking backwards and forwards slightly.

"I suggest you keep on your toes, Marinette," Tikki's suggestion brought Marinette out of her panicked thoughts. "I know you're not like that particular Ladybug, and you don't hate or want to betray Chat Noir, and I very much doubt that the opposite will occur as well. But the dream you told me about, and the dream I saw today, makes me uneasy. So be careful."

Marinette frowned seriously and nodded once at Tikki's suggestion before returning to sit in a normal position. "So until then, we wait and see what happens."

Tikki sighed. "I'm afraid so."

The red kwami and her holder returned to sitting in silence, lost deep in their thoughts while, just beneath the trapdoor that led to Marinette's bedroom, Sabine Cheng sat on one of the highest steps just below the door. She removed her head from her hands, tears streaking noiselessly down her cheeks as she turned her gaze back towards the television. Sabine stared at the paused image on screen, a close-up of Ladybug's head and shoulders.

At that sight, fresh tears began spilling uncontrollably out of her grey eyes before she placed her hands over her face again, hiding her sobs of pain and fear from the world.

.

"Okay Plagg, I'm really freaking out here," Adrien said for the hundredth time as he continued to pace the length of his large bedroom.

Plagg sighed, but otherwise said nothing, instead turning his attention back to the stack of cheese in front of him.

Up and down Adrien continued to pace, repeatedly running his hands through his thick blond hair, messing it up to the point where it was almost styled like Chat Noir's. His green eyes were wild and alert, and his head spun dizzily with the millions of thoughts that continued to pound the inside of his skull. The main one being the dream he'd had while he was under Dreamscape's spell…of him and… _Ladybug._

However, in his dream, he had been calling her… _Marinette_.

The memory spooked him to the point where Adrien froze and stopped pacing. His dream had been so wonderful: him and Ladybug together with three beautiful children. A perfect family and life he had always wanted. But then, Ladybug had started acting strangely, accusing him of not being real before running off into a dark void, leaving him all alone again.

He thought that he would have been used to Ladybug running away from him by now.

Then they were both together again in the middle of the city at night, all alone. She had kissed him. The memory caused Adrien to lick his lips, almost still able to taste her. In another confusing twist, she had then attempted to steal his miraculous before she threw herself off the Eiffel Tower.

Adrien's heart and stomach lurched as the image of her doing so taunted him. His anxiety over the whole ordeal was still through the roof. He was so relieved when Ladybug had woken him up for him to realise that it had all just been a dream. A dream that felt all too real though. It made him wonder what Ladybug had dreamed about as she was certainly acting differently afterwards.

"Plagg, I had a dream where I was calling Ladybug _Marinette_!" Adrien gasped out, turning around to face his gluttonous black cat kwami.

Plagg rolled his eyes. "I know kid, I saw."

"But I don't understand!" Adrien shrieked. "What does this mean? Does this mean I'm right and that Marinette is Ladybug, or did my subconscious mind just get confused because of my suspicions?"

The erratic hero went back to pacing, only faster this time. He froze again after his third lap, turning back to Plagg before darting over and flinging himself in front of the now startled kwami.

"Plagg, please!" Adrien begged.

"Please what?" Plagg snapped, moving protectively in front of his cheese. "So you had some stupid fantasy dream about Ladybug? What do you want me to do about it?"

"Convince me I'm not going crazy?" Adrien begged.

"Adrien, I don't think you'd know what sanity was if it hit you on the head," Plagg sighed.

Adrien's mouth twitched into a small smirk. "Was that an intentional pun?"

This just made Plagg roll his eyes and go back to stuffing his face.

Adrien went back to being serious again. "And…in my dream…Ladybug suddenly turned on me. It was like…she was after my miraculous."

The black kwami stiffened, which immediately caught Adrien's attention.

"Plagg?"

"What?" he replied slowly, his speech slightly muffled by a mouthful of cheese.

"What do you mean _what_?" Adrien asked, narrowing his eyes. "I mention what Ladybug did in my dream and you go all rigid."

"Rigid? I don't know what you're talking about," Plagg said nonchalantly, "I just swallowed a piece of camembert wrong."

"Plaaaggg," Adrien warned, "you and I both know that's not true. Do you know something you're not telling me? Does it have something to do with Ladybug's true identity?"

Adrien was instantly silenced when he felt a large piece of cheese hit him in the face. The blond model wiped away the residue in shock, his green eyes meeting Plagg's, who was staring at him in anger and frustration.

"Like I care about your precious Ladybug's identity," Plagg snapped as Adrien continued to watch him in shock. "Like I care about _you!_ "

The black kwami then took off and settled on a shelf at the other side of the room. Adrien gasped and watched his kwami with wide eyes. What had gotten into Plagg all of a sudden?

"Plagg?" Adrien was unable to raise his voice barely beyond a whisper.

He was deeply hurt by what Plagg had said, but Adrien figured that Plagg wouldn't just simply lash out like this for no reason. It was very much out of character. Adrien stood up from his bed, but didn't dare move any further. He watched as Plagg's large black ears flattened against his head as the little kwami kept his back to his holder, wrapping his arms around himself.

"And don't even think about getting all mushy and emotional on me," Plagg warned with a growl, sensing Adrien's intentions, which cause the young blond boy to sigh sadly.

This made one of Plagg's ears twitch, and he slowly turned around to see Adrien stood looking deeply sad and lost, staring down at the floor.

Plagg relaxed slightly, his expression turning slightly guilty.

"Look, kid, I didn't mean it," Plagg explained.

"I know," Adrien sighed. "Why are you angry though? Was it something I said?"

"No, I just…forget it." Plagg growled.

Adrien frowned. "No, I want to help."

"Yeah, well, you can't," Plagg huffed. "I just got reminded of something that happened a long time ago, that's all."

"Oh," was all Adrien could respond with.

He wanted to dig for more information, however, he clearly wasn't going to get any of that. Something had clearly ticked Plagg off, and it made Adrien wonder what he had said to remind Plagg of something that had happened in his past that made him so angry all of a sudden. Plagg was often too lazy to be angry or upset. His biggest emotional outbursts were just when he wasn't getting his fill of stinky cheese. Alas, Adrien knew that it was best not to pry, especially if it was obviously upsetting Plagg so much. He just hoped his little kwami was okay.

With a sigh, Adrien heaved himself over towards his giant computer, powering on the screen. Naturally, one of the first things that came up was the Ladyblog with the latest entry front and centre, consisting of images and eye witness accounts from their battle with Dreamscape today. Adrien shuddered at the memory of that particular akuma, hoping to now just forget about that strange dream he'd had while under his spell.

He began scrolling through the blog absentmindedly before he settled on a beautifully captured photo of Ladybug. Adrien couldn't help but gaze dreamily at the bight and warm smile on her face, along with the happy sparkle in her deep blue eyes.

"Don't start drooling," Plagg muttered sarcastically which startled Adrien, who immediately wiped his hand across his chin self-consciously.

No drool this time, thank goodness.

Adrien let out a love-struck sigh before he turned towards the framed photograph of his mother he had on his desk. He smiled longingly at his mother's carefree smile. It was the anniversary of her disappearance tomorrow, and he knew it was going to be hard. No matter how many years went by, it never got any easier. Nearly four whole years he had been without his mother. Four too many.

"I miss you, mom," Adrien whispered as he continued to stare at the photo, close to tears. "I wish you could have met Ladybug. I'm sure you would have loved her. She's so amazing and beautiful in every way."

The photo stared back at him, not saying a word. It was the closest Adrien could get to actually talking to his mother…now that he would likely never see her again.

Once again, Adrien found himself wishing he knew what had happened to her. At least then he could have some form of closure. But right now, he didn't know how he was supposed to be grieving. His father never really talked to him about it, just announcing when he got back from Tibet that his mother was gone.

Sadly turning away from the photo, Adrien gazed back at the large image of Ladybug on his screen. He wished he really did know her true identity, and that she knew his. Then he could talk to her about all of this. Get the things off his chest that he wanted to. He imagined with a small smile, Ladybug wrapping her arms around him and hugging him for hours. Adrien could almost feel the warmth of her small frame in his arms as she gave him the love and affection he was so starved of. It had felt wonderful today to have her in his arms after his ordeal under Dreamscape's spell. And she had hugged him back, comforting him while he struggled to hold it together.

Adrien wanted that. He wanted it all the time.

Staring at the image, Adrien's eyes began to narrow. He then reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his phone. Scrolling through his photos, he frowned when he finally reached one that included Marinette. Adrien then held up his phone next to the image of Ladybug, and his eyes widened considerably. Pale skin, black hair in identical twin tails, bright blue eyes and the exact same warm and friendly smile that would have even the most anxious person feel at ease.

Adrien almost dropped his phone, but luckily retained his grip just in time.

They looked practically identical.

How had he not seen this before?

"Plagg?" Adrien found himself calling upon his kwami again.

"What now?" Plagg sighed as he floated over to hover next to Adrien's shoulder.

"Look!" Adrien exclaimed. "Ladybug and Marinette…they look so similar."

"Wow, you really are obsessed," Plagg commented with a chuckle.

"I'm serious, Plagg!" Adrien gasped out. "I really think…I can't believe…could Marinette really be Ladybug?!"

Plagg shrugged, starting to look fed up and bored. "What would you do if she was, lover boy?"

"I…I don't know. I mean…Marinette's such a good friend."

Plagg facepalmed.

"What?" Adrien demanded, glaring at his kwami.

"Okay, I thought this would be funny at first, but you can't go around playing games like this. You and Ladybug are going to end up getting seriously hurt."

Adrien had never heard Plagg sound so serious.

"Who said anything about playing games?" Adrien huffed. "I just have some suspicions that Marinette might be Ladybug, and I want to find out for sure. Especially if that means the love of my life has been right under my nose the entire time."

"Do you love Marinette?" Plagg asked simply.

"I – what? No."

Plagg sighed. "Then what will it mean if you find out that she _is_ Ladybug?"

Adrien sighed. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"No Adrien, these are things you need to think about."

"Trust me Plagg, I'll figure something out." Adrien thought for a moment. "In the meantime, this tutoring session I'll be giving her will be an excellent opportunity to find out more information. I can try and catch her out, and then maybe I can finally have the definitive proof I need. I can get to know Marinette better, and see if she has any more similarities with Ladybug."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Not this whole spying tactic again."

"How else am I going to find out for sure?" Adrien demanded before he smirked when Plagg didn't reply.

Adrien knew it was going to be tricky and risky, but his curiosity was just eating away at him too much. After seeing the pretty much exact same graze on Marinette's head as Ladybug's, Adrien had begun noticing startling similarities between the two girls. There were too many strange coincidences going on for him to just ignore.

He wasn't too sure about how he felt over Ladybug possibly being Marinette. He hadn't really put too much thought into that aspect. However, his dream made him more determined than ever to maybe one day build a happy life with Ladybug. Knowing who she really was would be the first stepping stone to getting the perfect life he had experienced in his dream.

As Adrien leaned back in his desk chair deep in thought, Gabriel Agreste finally leaned away from the other side of his son's bedroom door. A sadistic smirk slithered onto his features, and his grey eyes sparkled dangerously. He slowly walked away, back towards his own office before he slowly closed the large, heavy door behind him.

* * *

 **Hmmm, not sure I'm one hundred percent happy with this chapter, but it's certainly better than the original draft. I dunno, filler chapters can be annoying as hell sometimes. Although I guess this doesn't truly count as filler seen as a lot of information was revealed so how about that? Lucky for you guys, my updating should go back to normal now, yippee!**

 **As always, let me know what you guys think in a review. I'm really curious to see if you guys have any theories as to what is going on as everyone seems extremely confused when I read reviews. Mwah ha ha ha! Sorry not sorry.**


	17. Somniphobia

**Welcome back everyone! This chapter was kinda rushed in the writing process and I really hope it doesn't show. I said in the previous chapter updating would go back to normal and that very nearly didn't happen. I needed to edit my thesis and what I thought would only take a couple of hours ended up taking three days. How I messed my calculation up that badly, I'll never know. So that meant I had less time to write than I thought, and I was desperate to get this chapter up today.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for the very kind reviews. Reading your theories was so interesting, unfortunately there's not very much I can say about them seen as I don't want to spoil things. You'll just have to see if you were right or not. Just know I smirked evilly as I read them. Read into that what you will.**

 **CAUTION: This chapter may be a bit gruesome and disturbing to some people.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Somniphobia**

Everywhere was pure darkness.

No matter how much Marinette squinted her eyes, she could not make out any viable shape in the distance. She had no idea what surface she was standing on; she could be standing on the edge of a cliff for all she knew. That thought sent Marinette's heart into a frenzy. She had to do something though. She couldn't just stand there for eternity.

Attentively taking a small step forward, Marinette slowly lowered her foot, sighing with relief when it made contact with a solid surface underneath her. As Marinette was about to take another cautious step forward, something red in the distance caught her attention. The sight made Marinette instantly freeze in place.

The red liquid on the invisible ground seeped towards her in a clear trail, and as it grew closer, Marinette soon realised with shock what the red liquid was.

Blood.

The blood continued to flow in a perfect straight line, stopping at her feet. All Marinette could do was stare at it for a few seconds before she followed the trail with her eyes. The blood appeared to be trying to lead her into the distance. _Like that was going to happen_ , Marinette thought to herself.

She quickly turned around to head in the opposite direction of the ominous blood, only to be halted in her tracks by an invisible wall that appeared to have materialised out of nowhere behind her. Despite not being able to see it, Marinette's nose was squished painfully against it, and her forehead hit it with a sharp bang.

Annoyed and frightened, Marinette rubbed her injured face, her forehead beginning to pound – that was going to leave a nasty bump.

Taking a small step back, Marinette whipped her head around to gaze in the direction of the blood trail and gulped. Clearly, some unseen force wanted her to follow it.

That's when she began to hear it.

The very faint but unmistakable screams and cries of a baby.

The sound echoed into the void and sent a deep chill up Marinette's spine. An all-consuming sense of dread engulfed her, causing Marinette to let out an involuntary quiet squeak of fear. Droplets of sweat began pooling on her skin, and her breathing hitched as the baby's cries continued.

After taking a deep breath, Marinette took a step forward, making sure not to step in the thick, oozing blood beneath her. No invisible wall stopped her, confirming her theory that whatever this place was, it wanted her to go this way. Marinette wasn't sure if she wanted to know what was at the other end of the blood trail though. Despite every cell in her body screaming at her not to, Marinette pressed on, pressing her lips together into a tight determined line. Her whole body tensed up, ready for whatever was about to be thrown at her. The feelings of readiness didn't slow the erratic beating of her heart though, and Marinette tried her best to keep control of her breathing by taking deep breaths through her nose as she continued to walk.

As Marinette travelled further along the blood trail, the cries of the baby grew louder and louder. What freaked Marinette out the most, was that these did not sound like a typical baby's cries. The cries came out in long drawn out shrieks, like the baby was hurt…or incredibly terrified of something.

After travelling in the dark void for what felt like an eternity, a wooden door appeared in the distance, which made Marinette gasp in fright and confusion. The sight made her instantly pause, however, the sudden sensation of being pushed from behind made Marinette scream out loud before she could stop herself.

Her superhero instincts kicked in, and Marinette turned around in the blink of an eye, arms raised and ready for a fight. Her blue eyes widened as large as saucers when she realised that no one was behind her…at least…no one she could see anyway.

With cold sweat dripping from her brow, and her expression terror-stricken, Marinette turned back around and slowly made her way towards the door. She stopped just in front of it as she stared down at the worn bronze doorknob. Light radiated out of the keyhole, but Marinette couldn't bring herself and try and open it. Instead, she gently pressed her right ear against the wooden door. When she did this, the baby's cries grew louder. Terrifyingly, she also heard what sounded like someone shuffling around. Those sounds made Marinette instantly remove her ear from the door and take an automatic step back.

Someone – or _something_ – was definitely in there.

Marinette looked down to see that the blood was seeping out from underneath the door. It wanted her to go inside. Looking around, Marinette realised opening the door was the only thing she could do. Everywhere else was a dark void of frightening emptiness.

Remaining vigilant, Marinette wrapped her hand around the cold doorknob and twisted. The door clicked, and the instant it did, the baby stopped crying and the shuffling stopped. Marinette opened the door a crack, and more warm light leaked out from the gap she had now created. Holding her breath, she slowly pushed the door open further, and the light disappeared.

Marinette frowned in confusion as she stood in the doorway, gazing into the room. It appeared as though she had entered some sort of kitchen. However, the room was devoid of colour, with everything retaining a grey hue while looking slightly blurred around the outside like an old television picture. Marinette could just about make out the kitchen cabinets. Doors had been left hanging open, which served to make the kitchen look smaller and more cramped.

Stepping further inside, Marinette jumped when the door slammed shut behind her, sealing her inside before it instantly turned grey like the rest of the room around her.

Pushing past the cabinets, Marinette made her way towards the door on the other side of the room that was slightly ajar. Creepily, Marinette could hear what sounded like an old radio playing in the background, filling the otherwise eerie silence. Every so often, the signal would cut out slightly before picking back up again. It was broadcasting in a language that Marinette did not recognise, with the same man talking non-stop.

Marinette also managed a catch a glimpse of a small analog clock hanging on the wall just next to the door she was slowly walking towards. Wherever she was, if that clock was correct, it was either eleven in the morning or eleven at night. In confusion, Marinette gazed out of the small window situated over the sink, but all that was outside was a bright white light. No help at all.

Gulping, Marinette pressed on before she reached out and nudged the kitchen door out of the way. It squeaked loudly as it swung open, bouncing back off the wall in the other room slightly. That's when Marinette had a deep sinking feeling that the source of the blood was in that room.

The minute the door opened, Marinette's eyes were assaulted with the sight of a huge lake of blood that almost stained the entire floor of the room. The sight caused Marinette to clamp her hands over her mouth to prevent her from screaming out loud. She didn't want to go in, she didn't want to look. She knew that whatever sight was waiting for her in that room would be too grotesque for her to handle. Marinette was never any good with gruesome stuff, and it felt like she was in her very own personal horror movie. But despite everything, Marinette somehow managed to force her head to peep around the corner of the doorway.

This time, Marinette was unable to contain her screams of horror.

An unfamiliar man was lying sprawled out in an unnatural position on the floor, his limbs twisted and broken. His face was pressed against the floor so Marinette was unable to see his features, which were further hidden by his thick black hair. His whole body, including the blood, was in colour unlike the rest of the room, though his whole body was practically stained a deep crimson red at this point. The man didn't move an inch; not even a steady rise and fall of his chest.

Marinette could feel her knees beginning to buckle underneath her, and her head began to spin. The room started to feel like it was on a sideways slant which caused her to stumble back against the wall slightly. Marinette really had to fight tooth and nail to prevent herself from fainting right there on the spot.

That was it.

Marinette had seen enough.

Tears cascaded down her cheeks as bile rose in her throat. She couldn't bear to look at the scene any longer. Whatever happened here, Marinette didn't want to stay long enough to find out. She twisted her body back towards the door, ready to bolt, however she froze when she realised the door that led out towards the dark void was open again. Two bright orange eyes peered at her from the blackness, and Marinette screamed as loud as her lungs would allow her. Those eyes ingrained a fear in Marinette that she had never experienced before. The feeling of dread the orange eyes sparked was unparalleled.

Keeping her eyes firmly locked on the orange irises that continued to stare at her unblinking, Marinette backed up slowly until her back collided with something firm and warm. Marinette yelped and twisted around, coming face to face with Chat Noir's leather clad chest. Feeling slightly relieved to have her partner here, Marinette then looked up, which instantly caused her feelings of relief to vanish when she caught the look on Chat Noir's face. He was staring down at her, angry and disappointed.

"What have you done, _Ladybug_?" he demanded in a flat tone.

Marinette's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? And how do you know I'm Ladybug?"

Her last question made Marinette take an automatic step back in fear of his answer.

"Enough!" Chat silenced her. She had never heard him so angry, and honestly, it frightened her. "I'm sick of playing your games. You know, I thought I really loved you. But the reality was, I didn't _know_ you."

"Chat…?"

"Now hand me your miraculous and all of this will end right here and now." Chat held his hand out while frowning at her.

Marinette took another step back. "You've got to be joking me?"

She was so confused. Why was Chat acting like this? How did he know she was Ladybug? And what on earth was he talking about?

Chat slowly lowered his hand and tilted his head to the side like a curious cat. His green eyes looked tired and apathetic as he stared at her. Gone was the cheeky and happy spark in his eyes. Now they were just dull and almost dead looking. It sent a shiver down Marinette's spine.

"Then you leave me with no choice," Chat growled in an animalistic way.

Marinette's eyes widened, her whole body screaming at her to turn and run, but it was too late. Within a split second, Chat Noir had pounced on her. He easily knocked her over and pinned her to the blood-stained floor. Marinette screamed as she felt the blood soak through her hair and into her clothes. Chat sat straddling her stomach, while Marinette did everything she could to try and shake him off her.

He had her too well pinned though. She was trapped.

With one hand, he easily grabbed both of Marinette's wrists and pinned them above her head. Marinette continued to thrash, screaming and yelling, hoping in the vain that someone would hear her. Chat Noir remained unphased. Reaching down with his free hand, a devilish smirk formed on his face as he placed his fingers on one of her earrings…

"NOOOOOOOO!" Marinette screamed as her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright in bed.

Once again, she was drenched in cold sweat, and her racing heart felt like it might shatter her rib cage and burst free. Her breath came out in laboured pants as Marinette stared around her room, fearful and disorientated. In her sleep, she had kicked her sheets off herself, and Marinette's breathing began to steady slightly when she realised it had all just been a dream.

"Marinette!" Tikki cried out, immediately appearing in front of her face.

"Tikki!" Marinette was unable to hold back her sobs. "I-it was a-awful."

Marinette continued to cry uncontrollably, bringing her knees up to her chest before she curled into the tightest ball she possibly could. The fresh memories of her nightmare continued to haunt her. The blood, the darkness, the crying baby…Chat Noir…

"Another nightmare?" Tikki sighed sympathetically, hovering closer.

Marinette could only bring herself to nod. That's when she noticed it. The unmistakable throbbing pain on her forehead. Just like…Marinette gasped and reached for the compact mirror she kept on a shelf next to her bed while Tikki watched her curiously and with a hint of concern. Marinette opened the mirror and pushed her bangs out of her face to reveal the top of her face. There, in the middle of her forehead, was a fresh bump rising out of her skin. In the exact same spot she had banged her head on the invisible wall in her dream.

This caused Marinette to shriek in fear and immediately drop her mirror.

"Marinette?" Tikki asked slowly with a panicked edge to her voice.

The young hero managed to get some sense of control over her horrified sobbing to at least speak properly. "Tikki…in my dream…I bumped my head…and I've just woken up with the exact same injury I got in my dream!"

Tikki's eyes widened. "Okay, okay, calm down ssssh," Tikki tried to reassure her before continuing, "are you sure you didn't just bang your head in your sleep?"

"I don't know…I'm really scared, Tikki. These dreams are getting more and more terrifying."

The red kwami hovered closer, resting her head against Marinette's tear-stained cheek before rubbing soothing circles into her skin with her little red arm. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

Marinette sniffed. "I was in this dark void, like the dream I had when I was attacked by Dreamscape. I was forced to follow a trail of blood and it led me to a door. I went inside, and everything was all weird and grey. I continued to follow the blood and it led me to a man. He was laying dead on the floor, Tikki! There was blood everywhere! I turned around to run away when I saw those orange eyes watching me again. I backed away and that's when I bumped into Chat. He said some strange things to me, and he knew I was Ladybug. He attacked me, pinned me down and…"

"And what?" Tikki encouraged, sounding desperate.

"He tried to take my miraculous." Marinette began crying into her hands, shaking and shivering from the horrible memories of the nightmare.

Tikki remained quiet for a few moments, letting Marinette get it all out of her system.

"What's happening to me, Tikki?" Marinette asked once her sobs had died down slightly. She peered down at Tikki, whose blue eyes looked slightly rattled and nervous.

"I don't know Marinette, but I wish we did."

"We have to talk to Master Fu," Marinette begged.

"No," Tikki insisted, her face morphing into a more serious expression, "I was specifically ordered not to bring up his past or anything that might relate to it."

"But this is ridiculous!" Marinette cried out, lowering her voice slightly when Tikki shushed her. "Maybe I'm losing my mind!" Then Marinette gasped loudly. "What if the peacock miraculous holder is after me? What if this is their power?!"

"Now you're just being silly, Marinette," Tikki sighed, "remember, Hawkmoth likely has the peacock miraculous, and if I remember correctly, to use their powers, the peacock miraculous user has to be close to their intended target. And if they were close, I would sense it."

Marinette's eyes widened. "I'm not hearing a denial on the fact that this is their power."

Tikki growled lowly to herself. "Alright, yes, I admit you were right on that one. The peacock miraculous grants the power of total control of the mind."

"Wait…isn't that Hawkmoth's power?"

"To an extent. The butterfly brooch allows you to grant people power and use them for your cause. The peacock brooch on the other hand allows you to completely invade someone's mind. You can take total physical and mental control of them, see into their deepest memories and manipulate their own mind against them. It's an awful power when used for the wrong purposes," Tikki explained, shuddering slightly.

Marinette remained in stunned silence for a few seconds. "That's awful."

"But that's not what's happening to you," Tikki quickly interjected, "I'm actually not too sure what's happening to you to be completely honest. I just know it's similar to what happened to one of my previous holders."

"Which is why we need Master Fu," Marinette insisted.

Tikki merely shook her head.

Despite her anger at Tikki's reluctance to speak with Master Fu, Marinette felt her heart finally calm down. She grabbed her phone to check the time which brightly displayed that it was four in the morning. Marinette let out a deep sigh and threw herself back down against her bed. All she could do was stare at the ceiling. There was no way in hell she was going back to sleep. Her heartbeat began to pick up again slightly at the mere thought.

The nightmares appeared to be only getting worse. Marinette began to ponder whether she should tell Chat Noir. Maybe he had been having dreams too? Then maybe together they could figure out what they mean. But…what if he wasn't? And then Marinette just came across as completely crazy? Would her dreams in which they steal each other's miraculous scare him? Would he then start mistrusting her? But she had also just promised to not keep any more important secrets from him. What if this was important?

With a heavy sigh, Marinette flung herself back out of bed. She could feel Tikki's eyes boring into her as she climbed down her ladder and made her way towards her desk before sitting down. She switched one of her lamps on and pulled out her sketchbook along with a pencil.

"What are you doing, Marinette? Shouldn't you be getting back to sleep?" Tikki inquired, looking confused.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Like I could get back to sleep after that ordeal."

The bump on her head throbbed painfully at that very thought. This caused Marinette to begin internally panicking again. Then again, surely Tikki was right and it was just a coincidence. Maybe she had bumped her head in her sleep, and thus, that was why it happened in her dream as well.

But Marinette had never injured herself in her sleep before. She had always been such a deep sleeper and rarely moved. Then again, she had also rarely dreamed up until last week when all of this had started. Marinette was still leaning towards the idea that she was going crazy.

Shaking her head to dispel those thoughts, Marinette opened her sketchbook and began doodling away to help her take her mind off things. The whole time, Marinette continued to feel her red kwami burning holes in the back of her head.

Finally, Tikki had had enough.

"You can't just put off sleep because you're afraid of having another nightmare Marinette."

"Who said anything about being afraid?" Marinette innocently questioned as she chewed the end of her pencil.

Tikki rolled her eyes. "I think we both know the reason you won't go back to sleep is because you're scared, Marinette."

Marinette pretended not to hear, going back to sketching out her design that was turning into a rather nice-looking scarf. She did her best to focus on every stroke of her pencil, ignoring the tired burning of her eyes as she continued to work. Her design reminded her of the scarf that she had designed Adrien for his birthday a few years ago. The thought of Adrien immediately had a calming effect on her. However, before she could begin daydreaming about the love of her life, Tikki's words rained on her like a cold shower.

"Marinette, there's no shame in being scared," Tikki tried to reassure her, "it's understandable with the nightmares you've been having lately. But you can't fight off sleep forever – it's impossible. Not to mention it will start effecting your school work and your abilities as Ladybug."

"I know, Tikki," Marinette sighed. "I'm not scared, I just…I'm worried about the next nightmare possibly being worse."

"You can't afford to think like that Marinette."

"Again, I know. It's just difficult not to." Marinette put her pencil down and leaned back in her desk chair, folding her arms. "I just wish I knew what it all meant. Every new dream becomes even more nonsensical than the previous one. You say it's a bad omen, especially if I'm fighting Chat Noir, but what does the other stuff mean? How is it that I'm dreaming of things that are linked to the peacock miraculous holder? And what's the other stuff? The lady on the mountain? The man I dreamed about tonight? I don't have enough of a disturbed and vivid imagination to come up with all of that on my own."

"I don't know, Marinette." Tikki looked defeated and frustrated. "The other stuff might not even mean anything, they could just simply be weird dreams that get thrown in with the Chat Noir ones."

Marinette wasn't convinced by that answer. However, Marinette didn't want to dwell on it too much. Not until she had some decent possible answers, and Tikki wasn't providing her with any of those at the moment.

To try and keep herself calm, Marinette went back to her design again. The thought of Chat Noir had her adding little black paw prints on the bottom edges of the scarf without her properly realising what she was doing.

Soon, rays of sunlight began to shine through her window. Her eyes continued to feel heavy and sting slightly, and Marinette began to dread what her current physical appearance was. She knew she must look like a wreck.

Putting her pencil down, Marinette then switched off her lamp and did her normal morning routine. Once she was dressed and ready, she made her way downstairs, ready to face her parents again. Maybe this time, she could talk to them properly about this work experience placement. However, when she reached the bottom of her steps, she froze when she realised that the apartment was empty. Her eyes then zeroed in on a note that had been left on the kitchen counter which she picked up to read.

 _Gone out for the day with friends. Hope you have a good day. See you later._

 _Love, mom and dad._

Marinette frowned. That was odd. She never heard them moving around this morning, and why didn't they come to tell her in person? Her parents rarely went out with friends; they were always too busy. Then again, maybe they finally found the time. Despite how they treated her yesterday, Marinette did feel like they deserved a break. Maybe once they were de-stressed, Marinette could finally talk to them properly.

Placing the note back down, Marinette fixed herself a bowl of cereal before eating with Tikki in silence. However, Marinette just ended up mainly pushing the sugary cereal around in her bowl, occasionally forcing herself to swallow a bite and giving the odd spoonful to her sweet-toothed kwami, which she very much appreciated. Marinette laughed as Tikki swallowed another huge mouthful, who then smiled at seeing her holder finally smiling and laughing again.

Once she was finished, Marinette quickly washed up before standing awkwardly in the middle of her family's apartment, not really knowing what to do with herself. She could patrol the city as Ladybug, however she didn't really trust herself with how tired she was feeling. She really hoped that Hawkmoth didn't decide to attack today. That's when Marinette noticed that her parents had left their bedroom door open slightly.

"Y'know, Tikki, this might be a good chance to try and figured out what my parents were hiding from me." Marinette smirked, remembering how she reasoned that she would have to go snooping to see if she could find anything.

"Marinette!" Tikki scolded. "You can't go snooping through your parents' bedroom!"

Marinette sighed. "I know it's not ideal, but I don't completely buy what they told me yesterday."

"I know they were behaving suspiciously, but maybe they'll tell you when they're good and ready," Tikki tried to talk Marinette out of it.

Marinette frowned. "You heard my mom though, she said she didn't want me to know."

With that, Marinette's mind was made up.

Ignoring Tikki's protesting, Marinette marched into her parents' bedroom. It was small with a large double bed taking up most of the space. It was the wooden drawers on either side of the bed that Marinette was interested in. She decided snooping in the drawers on her mother's side of the bed would be her best bet.

She opened the top drawer and frowned when all she saw was the typical stuff. Just a lot of old bills and small nick-nacks. After shutting that drawer, Marinette opened the bottom one, and once again found nothing of interest. This drawer was mainly filled with photo albums from her childhood, along with a few loose, much older photos.

There was one of her parents getting married, and few of them were of her parents on what looked like dates. There was also one of her mother standing happy and smiling next to a Chinese man that Marinette did not recognise. He looked quite a lot like her mother though, with thick black hair and grey eyes, so Marinette just assumed that he was some family member she had never met. With a defeated sigh, Marinette placed the photos neatly back and gently shut the drawer again. Her father's side didn't yield much either, just lots of scraps of paper with rough notes for new recipes.

Letting out another defeated sigh, Marinette stopped snooping, instead simply sitting on the edge of her parents' bed. "I was so sure if they were hiding something, I'd find the answers in here."

Tikki looked smug. "See, snooping gets you nowhere. Maybe your parents were in fact telling the truth?"

"I guess…" Marinette sighed, feelings of guilt beginning to bubble up inside her. "Their behaviour was still pretty weird though." She scrunched up her nose at the memory of the argument she'd had with her mother when she suddenly back peddled on her agreement to let Marinette do the work placement with Nina.

Something just suddenly felt incredibly… _off_ …to Marinette, and it was bugging her that she couldn't quite pin-point it. Marinette usually had great instincts, however, after being wrong about Gabriel Agreste being Hawkmoth, she wasn't so quick to trust her gut anymore. So maybe she was wrong about this as well and was just being paranoid? Why would her parents hide anything from her anyway? They were always such a close and loving family.

Until she had become Ladybug, Marinette had never kept any secrets from them, and presumably, the opposite was the case as well. Not to mention her parents were often terrible liars. They could never even handle organising a surprise birthday party for her without giving it away. Marinette chuckled at that thought. But still, her head was spinning with everything that had been going on lately, and she wasn't sure how much more weirdness she could take.

"Ugh, I've gotta get out of the house," Marinette groaned, abruptly standing up, startling Tikki slightly. "I need to do something to distract myself."

"Just be careful," Tikki warned as she flew into Marinette's purse just as the young hero swung it over her shoulder.

Marinette then made her way out of the apartment and through the bakery. The crisp air of the approaching autumn instantly hit her once she was outside, and Marinette breathed it in, letting it wash away most of her anxieties after the awful and rough night she'd had. Thinking about the scarf she had designed, Marinette realised that she needed to stock up on material. Maybe a little bit of retail therapy was just what she needed to hopefully calm down.

After all, how eventful could a simple shopping trip be?

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 **Another slightly slow chapter, but with a lot of necessary information. Had to cut this chapter short as I couldn't fit everything in without it being ridiculously long or it ending in a weird place. I'm still interested to see if your theories have changed or if there's anyone else who wants to have a guess at what's going on. So feel free to leave those. Also, feel free to leave a general review. Reviews are what inspire me to keep going with this story and I really appreciate them. See you soon.**


	18. Sinister Revelations

**Hey there, how's everybody doing? It feels so good to be able to have proper time to write properly again. I really hate being busy, I get easily overwhelmed. Thank you so much for the awesome reviews as always. Feedback is always incredibly helpful. I also just realised that this story now has over 100 followers which is nuts. Thank you, guys. The amount of people who read this story never ceases to shock me.**

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 **Chapter 18: Sinister Revelations**

It was lucky that the daytime air was starting to become crisp and a little on the cooler side. The autumn air felt wonderful against Marinette's skin; it was incredibly refreshing. Right now, it was the only thing that was helping her keep her eyes open. Her lids felt heavy, like her eyelashes suddenly weighed over one hundred pounds. Her legs felt like they were made of lead as she dragged them along the concrete pavement. To the outside world, she must look like a zombie right now.

Going outside was starting to look more and more like a bad idea. Marinette garnered a few stares from passers-by as she swayed slightly while waiting at the crossing point. She was starting to feel and look drunk. But she didn't want to stay at home. If she stayed at home, she risked dozing off and having more awful nightmares. Plus, this was her chance to get the new materials she had been desperately needing. She was running low on practically everything.

Marinette decided it would be best to just stick with the small shopping plaza that was nearest to her apartment. She had planned on heading towards the mall, but staying closer to home, especially in her current state, seemed like the better idea.

The wide-open plaza was quiet, almost practically deserted since it was Sunday – something that Marinette was incredibly grateful for. She knew she wasn't in the mood to deal with huge crowds of shoppers today.

Feeling her eyes burning, Marinette blinked and shook her head in order to try force her body and brain to wake up some more. Every time she did blink, Marinette felt like she was taking a huge risk. If she closed her eyes, even if she just thought it would be for a millisecond, they might never open again, and she would pass out right in the middle of the street. That would probably be a new low for her, even after crashing into her crush's window last week like she did. Marinette shuddered at the embarrassing memory.

Trying her best to push the memories of her embarrassing awkwardness aside, Marinette spotted one of her favourite arts and crafts stores and made her way inside. The warm air of the store instantly made Marinette feel even sleepier, and she had to momentarily pause in the entrance to catch her bearings.

After her swaying had settled down, Marinette made her way towards the sections where materials were kept. The shop was deserted, and it only seemed to be Marinette inside, apart from the middle-aged woman working behind the register who was busy reading a magazine.

Frowning in slight annoyance, Marinette couldn't seem to find the shade of green that she had in mind for the scarf she had sketched earlier this morning. Then again, Marinette paused, she hadn't exactly decided what she was going to make it out of. Should she knit it out of wool? It had been a while since she had knitted. Maybe crochet? Autumn and winter were approaching so maybe it was best to make it out of wool.

Turning around to the opposite shelf that displayed hundreds of balls of wool in a wide variety of colours, Marinette could just about see, much to her delight, the shade of green she had in mind at the back of the bottom shelf. She bent down and stuck her head and hand in before she grabbed hold of the ball of yarn, smiling in satisfaction.

"Hello, Marinette," a warm, high-pitched voice suddenly greeted Marinette from behind.

This made her jump, and Marinette let out a small surprised shriek, instantly bolting upright. However, she had forgotten that she was under a metallic shelf, and her head painfully slammed against the shelf above her in her attempt to quickly stand up. Marinette cried out in pain as she nearly knocked the shelf out of its brackets, creating a loud clanging noise in the process and sending a few balls of yarn flying everywhere.

Marinette clung onto the back of her head as it began throbbing, and she finally managed to extract herself from underneath the shelf to stand up, though her knees buckled slightly in her tired and pain ridden state.

"Marinette, I'm so sorry!" Nina cried out. "I didn't mean to make you jump. I just saw you walking into the store and I felt like I had to say a quick hello."

Marinette forced out a fake chuckle, despite the immense pain she was in. Her whole face was flushed and now she felt like she might collapse for an entirely different reason. "I-it's alright."

"Hey!" the woman at the register called. "What's going on back there?"

"Sorry ma'am, I just banged my head, I haven't damaged anything," Marinette called back in reassurance, and when she received no reply, figured she had gotten away with what just happened.

She turned back to Nina with an awkward smile, her beautiful blue eyes sparkled slightly in amusement.

"It's not funny," Marinette pouted, her face flushing an even brighter shade of red.

Nina bit her lip to contain a smirk. "I wasn't laughing."

Marinette gripped the green yarn in her hand tighter, wondering if it was big enough to hide her face behind. Maybe she could be sucked in between the thick strings and disappear into the warm and cozy void, never to be seen again.

Marinette's head then erupted into another painful throb, bringing her back down to reality. Some lucky bug she was. Couldn't even simply go to the store without embarrassing herself in front of…her boss. That was right – Nina was technically her boss now. That thought made Marinette groan and bury her face in the thick ball of wool, and this time, Nina couldn't contain her chuckle.

"I'm so sorry, I can be so clumsy sometimes…often…most of the time," Marinette sighed, her voice muffled slightly by the wool.

"Why are you apologising?" Nina asked, still sounding amused. "It happens to the best of us."

Marinette peered out from behind her tiny hiding place to finally look back at Nina. Her eyes were sparkling as she stared at her, and her arms were folded across her chest while she leaned her hip to the side slightly. How could someone so beautiful and glamourous still want to talk to her after what she just did? Anyone else would be slowly backing away in fear and concern over Marinette's weird and clumsy behaviour. Yet, Nina just seemed so accepting of her and all her weird quirks.

Maybe she was going to really enjoy working for her. The thought warmed Marinette's heart and instantly swayed her against possibly calling off the work experience placement. It wouldn't be fair to mess around someone so kind.

Now that Marinette thought about it, Nina really had done a lot for her and yet they barely knew each other, only having had two proper conversations together. It made Marinette question even more the bad feeling she had gotten when first talking to her. It was clearly unjustified and unwarranted.

However, Marinette was brought out of her daydream by her head throbbing again, only this time more painfully, rendering Marinette unable to resist moving a hand up to place it on her head.

"Is it still hurting?" Nina gasped, suddenly looking concerned. "Here, let me have a look."

Marinette took an automatic step back, laughing nervously. "Ah, that's okay, I'm sure it's nothing."

Nina frowned. "I think we should leave it up to me to decide whether or not it's nothing."

Without waiting for Marinette's reply, Nina gently grabbed Marinette's shoulders and spun her around so she could easily see the back of her head. Marinette remained still, her blue eyes widening in shock at Nina's actions. She could feel Nina's warm, thin fingers combing through her thick dark hair, examining her head.

Marinette wasn't going to lie that she found it a little bit invasive, but at the same time, she was flattered that Nina seemed to care about her wellbeing so much. It kind of reminded her of her own mother's slightly smothering nature. Marinette winced as she was yanked out of her deep thoughts by the feeling of Nina gently pressing the obvious bump that was beginning to form on the back of Marinette's head. Great, Marinette thought to herself, another injury to add to the list. Now she seemed to be sporting two rather impressive bumps on her head as well as that ugly graze, which, thankfully, was now starting to show signs of healing, having shrunk slightly and scabbed over.

Nina hummed, deep in thought. "I don't think it's anything worth rushing you to the hospital for." She commented, finally releasing Marinette, much to her relief. "But still, I'd keep an eye on it if I were you; it looks like it's going to turn into a pretty nasty bump."

Marinette waved her off. "I'm used to being covered in bumps and bruises. I wasn't kidding when I said I was clumsy."

Nina giggled. "Well remind me when you're doing your shifts with me not to let you run with scissors. I don't want a health and safety lawsuit."

Marinette laughed with her, feeling slightly more relaxed now. "Don't worry, my parents taught me that from a very young age."

Nina's eye twitched slightly and she pressed her lips into a tight line before her expression went back to normal. In fact, the changing of her facial expression was so quick, Marinette wasn't even sure if she'd picked up on it correctly, if at all. The sight made Marinette start to feel slightly awkward.

The conversation seemed to have gone a bit stale, and Marinette wasn't sure what to say. What exactly did you talk about with a celebrity? Marinette felt unworthy to be in her very presence, let alone hold a conversation with her. Nina didn't seem to be in any rush to go anywhere though as she continued to stare at Marinette in a way that made her feel like she was a goldfish trapped in a fish tank, or some sort of cornered animal.

Marinette was sure that Nina wasn't intending to make Marinette feel uncomfortable, but she was. Though Marinette knew it was just her being silly. She was probably just intimidated because she was a famous fashion designer and all of Marinette's hopes and dreams were suddenly counting on this woman. She wanted to make a good impression.

But still, why were her instincts suddenly screaming at her again? They were obviously getting mixed up and confused, just like when she had been the presence of Gabriel Agreste.

"You look really tired, Marinette," Nina noted as she narrowed her eyes at the dark circles under Marinette's eyes and the bloodshot red vessels in her sclera.

Looking away self-consciously, Marinette sighed. "Yeah, I haven't really been sleeping all that well lately."

"Oh?" Nina subtly asked for details.

"I dunno," Marinette spoke with a dismissive frown, feeling even more fatigued now that Nina had brought it up, "these past few days I just keep having these really bad nightmares and it's disturbing my sleep. I know, I sound like some sort of little kid." Marinette shrunk back slightly in shame.

Nina shook her head. "Not at all. Nightmares are always awful." Her lip twitched upward slightly at that remark. "What do you dream about then? It must be pretty bad to make you this tired."

Marinette sighed. "It sounds crazy, but it's almost as if something is trying to tell me something," she explained as she thought back to her most recent nightmare last night. The way she had been pushed and encouraged towards that awful scene. The way she had been led towards that woman, crying and injured on the mountain side, only to be then seemingly dragged away by an invisible force.

Maybe this was part of the bad omen that Tikki had been warning her about? Something, maybe even Marinette's own subconscious, was trying to warn her about something. But what? Marinette desperately wished that she knew that answer to that question.

"How do you mean?" Nina seemed confused and…nervous?

"It's hard to explain." Marinette frowned, deep in thought, trying her best to think of an explanation. "I just keep being forced to witness these horrible visions." Marinette looked away, fighting back tears of fear. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Talking about it might help though," Nina encouraged, snaking an arm around Marinette's shoulder.

The sensation sent a shiver up Marinette's spine, though she tried to hide it. If Nina noticed, she didn't comment on it, nor did she let go of Marinette's shoulder.

"I used to have really bad night terrors too," Nina continued, "then again, I've been through things that you couldn't even possibly imagine."

Marinette watched slightly startled as Nina's face turned dark. Her sparkly blue eyes went instantly dull and turned to stone as hard as sapphires. Her delicate blonde eyebrows furrowed, creating a deep and sinister line on her glabella. Marinette wasn't going to lie that it was slightly intimidating, though her curiosity as to what Nina was talking about peaked.

Marinette never really imagined this glamourous woman going through anything horrible in life. She looked like one of those innocent and naïve women, born with a silver spoon in her mouth. That's when Marinette began to think back. Nina had seemed to have implied that she wasn't always rich and famous. If Marinette remembered correctly, she was sure she remembered Nina saying that she rose from nothing. That was pretty impressive, and made Marinette have a newfound respect for Nina. Not only that, it inspired her. If Nina could come from nothing, and from an obvious traumatic past like she was currently implying, then maybe Marinette could make it too.

It made Marinette feel even guiltier about reconsidering the work placement offer. It was clear that Nina wanted to offer Marinette a slightly easier ride that she ever received.

"I'm sorry," Marinette whispered, not sure what to say after Nina's revelation.

"Don't worry about it," Nina quickly brushed it off, though her eyes remained lifeless and cold. "It's all in the past. I'm sure your nightmares can't be that bad."

Containing a whimper at the memories, Marinette explained as best she could without going into too much detail. "Oh, just walking into this small house where a man is lying dead and covered in blood while a baby was screaming, and also having a dream about finding a woman bleeding to death on the side of a mountain."

Nina froze, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. "Wait, what?"

"I should probably go and pay for this," Marinette announced, holding up the green wool, pretending not to hear what Nina had just said in the hopes of moving on from this conversation. Marinette could barely handle talking to Tikki about these things, never mind a woman who was practically a total stranger.

Marinette turned around, leaving behind a stunned and still frozen Nina. She made her way to the register and placed the wool on the counter, letting the woman scan it. That's when Marinette felt a hand on her shoulder just as she was getting out her purse.

"Don't worry, I'll get this," Nina said, handing the woman behind the register her card.

"Oh, no, really that's not necessary!" Marinette tried to protest.

"So, about this man and this woman you saw?" Nina ignored Marinette's stuttering protests, forcing her card into the woman's hand without even sparing her a glance.

Marinette stared at Nina, utterly perplexed. Was Nina…trembling?

"I-I don't know. I've never seen them before, but the dream sure was freaky. I don't really want to talk about it."

"This woman, what did she look like?" Nina demanded as Marinette gratefully took her bag of yarn off the woman behind the cash register.

It was starting to scare Marinette slightly that Nina seemed so keen to find out what Marinette had been dreaming about. Why did she want to know? Why did she care so much? Her slightly frantic behaviour was really starting to put Marinette on edge.

"Again, I don't know," Marinette tried to explain as she backed away from the register, refusing to meet Nina's intimidating and desperate eyes. "She was…pale? I couldn't really see properly because she was cloaked and covered in blood. Though…I think her eyes were…orange."

A chill vibrated through every cell in Marinette's body at the mere thought of those bright orange eyes. Nina, however, remained still and expressionless, staring down at the floor. Even the woman behind the register was giving her a weird look. Marinette wasn't sure what to do or say. Was this somehow bringing back bad memories for Nina? But, she was the one who insisted on knowing, much to Marinette's malcontent.

Unable to muster up the courage to say anything or even look at Nina at the moment, Marinette found her gaze gravitating towards the window. That's when Marinette let out a loud, awkward shriek. Sitting outside on a bench was none other than Adrian Agreste.

Oh no! Marinette's luck couldn't get any worse!

He couldn't see her in this state! She hadn't washed her hair and she looked incredibly rough with bags under her tired and bloodshot eyes. And he would see her the moment that she opened the door. At the moment, he was sat with his head in his hands, gazing down at the ground, his eyes watching the pigeons as they waddled past. Adrien then sneezed, and Marinette couldn't help but think how cute he looked.

Shaking her head, Marinette began looking frantically around, trying to come up with some sort of plan to either get out without being seen, or to at least look slightly more presentable.

"What's got you suddenly so anxious?" Nina chuckled, seemingly back to normal after that weird episode she seemed to have a few minutes ago.

"N-nothing," Marinette stuttered, her eyes gravitating towards Adrien and then away again.

Nina followed her line of sight before her eyes widened in shock.

"Marinette? Do you like that boy?" Nina quizzed, a large smirk forming on her face.

"What?! No! I mean – is it that obvious? No!" Marinette squealed.

Unexpectedly, Nina suddenly burst into fits of laughter, much to Marinette's embarrassment. She watched with wide eyes as Nina clutched her stomach as she continued to laugh uncontrollably, and Marinette couldn't help but feel slightly offended and uncomfortable.

Finally catching sight of Marinette's miserable and humiliated expression, Nina finally brought her laughter under control and stood up straighter, looking at Marinette slightly sympathetically, though amusement still lit up her eyes.

"Sorry." Nina giggled again. "I'm not laughing at you. It's just I can't believe that Gabriel Agreste's son and my… _never mind_." Nina covered her mouth, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

Her words did nothing to reassure Marinette. She stole one last glance at Adrien, who still didn't appear to have spotted her, before she looked down at the white tiled floor. Marinette sighed miserably, clasping her hands together behind her back, digging her nails into the plastic handles of the bag she was now carrying.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway," Marinette mumbled sadly, "because it's not like he's ever going to like me back."

"Hey, now where's this come from?" Nina's voice softened and she placed both hands on Marinette's shoulders before freeing one of them to place a finger under Marinette's chin, forcing her to look up at her. "What did I tell you a yesterday? If you want something really badly, you have to fight for it. And that didn't sound like fighting talk to me."

Marinette sighed, slightly forcing her chin out of Nina's grip which made her frown for a split second before she plastered a concerned expression back on her face.

"I don't know. It's just…you're right. He's the son of _Gabriel Agreste._ I don't stand a chance."

Nina rolled her eyes. "You just go for it girl, and if you want, you can let _me_ handle Gabriel Agreste. That big bully doesn't scare me."

Marinette chuckled.

"Now go out there and fight for your man. It's been nice talking to you. I'll see you next Saturday and you better give me all the details," Nina demanded.

All Marinette could do was widen her eyes in confusion as Nina grabbed her shoulders again and twisted her around before all but pushing Marinette out of the door to the store. Marinette stumbled slightly and shrieked when Adrien looked up and saw her. She turned back around to stare at Nina incredulously. Nina winked and gave her a thumbs up sign before she exited the store herself and walked away.

Staring back at a confused looking Adrien, Marinette smiled awkwardly, and he smiled back before he waved for her to come closer. Marinette obliged, gripping her bag tightly while maintaining an unnaturally wide and awkward smile on her face.

"H-hey Marinette," Adrien greeted.

Despite his smile, his green eyes remained, sad and Marinette wondered what seemed to have him looking so glum today.

"Errrr, hey yourself." Marinette tried to act cool, but just ended up sounding cheesy and weird in the process.

 _Oh great! For once just try and act normal_ , Marinette mentally scolded herself.

Adrien smiled and gestured to the spot next him, a silent request for Marinette to take a seat next to him. Gulping, Marinette silently accepted his invitation and sat down next to him, though she made sure to keep some space between them. She didn't want to risk them touching, which she knew would have an embarrassing and disastrous effect on her. For now, he was the flame and she was a moth, and she wanted to prevent herself from being burned. The urge to touch him was always so tempting, but she knew it would overstep his boundaries and just make her look weird and creepy.

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Marinette sat stiffly, not knowing what to say to fill the almost unbearable silence between them. Adrien himself seemed just as lost for words as she was, staring straight ahead almost robotically.

Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"So, what's in the bag?" he innocently inquired.

"Oh, just some wool so I can make something for a friend. An apology gift I guess." Marinette pulled the dark green wool out of the bag, briefly showing Adrien before placing it back inside the bag.

"An apology gift?"

Marinette sighed. "I haven't exactly been the greatest friend to him lately, so I was hoping to make something to cheer him up."

"Oh," was all Adrien glumly responded with as he went back to staring at the ground.

"Adrien?" Marinette cautiously asked him. "Is something wrong?"

Adrien sighed. "I wouldn't want to bore or inconvenience you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Marinette patiently reassured him. "If something is upsetting you, you know you can always talk to me if you feel you need to, right?"

Adrien looked up, and for the first time, offered her a genuine smile. "Thanks, Marinette. You're a really good friend."

 _Friend._

That word sliced through her heart like a sharp sword just like it always did when Adrien used that word to describe her.

It felt like Marinette might fall down and bleed out on the ground right there and then. However, she had to force her heart to magically sow itself back together. She couldn't afford to think like that right now. Not when Adrien was hurting so much. He clearly needed her right now, and Marinette couldn't afford to get selfishly upset over one simple and insignificant word.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" Marinette offered. "I am a good listener, and like you said in the park yesterday, you like to get things off your chest."

"Wow." Adrien sounded astonished. "You remembered that?"

"Yeah?" Marinette was curious as to why Adrien sounded so surprised that she listened to him. "It was obviously something that was really important to you."

Adrien smiled warmly at her and scooted slightly closer towards her. "You're making me feel slightly better already." He let out a light chuckle, though there was still a sad and melancholic edge to it that Marinette easily picked up on.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng to the rescue." She smiled.

"It's just…I ran away from home this morning," Adrien explained with a frown.

"What? Why?" Marinette asked.

Now that Adrien mentioned it, she did notice that either his father, his bodyguard or Nathalie were around. Adrien was hardly ever allowed to go outside without at least one of them.

Adrien took a while to respond. "It's the anniversary of my mother's…disappearance today."

Marinette gasped. "Oh my gosh, Adrien, I'm so sorry." She automatically reached out her hand and placed it gently on his arm, ignoring the electrical sparks it sent through her body.

"It's alright." Adrien placed his larger hand delicately on top of hers for comfort. "I wanted to spend some time with my father today, to maybe hopefully talk about it together to help each other get through it. But he didn't want to know. He insisted he was too busy. I couldn't take it, so I just ran."

"I'm sure your father is finding it very difficult too. Shutting himself away from the world is probably just his way of dealing with things." Marinette did her best to explain and comfort Adrien.

"I know but…" Adrien sighed. "I do just wish he would let me in sometimes. Ever since mom went missing, he hasn't been the same. I want to help him. I want us to help each other, but he just won't let me."

"Unfortunately, you sometimes can't help people until they want to be helped," Marinette explained sadly. "I'm sure he'll let you in eventually. You just need to give him time. Until then, I know it won't be the same, but you have me, and you have Nino and Alya. We'll always be here if you need to talk and get things off your chest. Especially this time of year. You don't have to be alone in this, Adrien."

"Marinette…" Adrien gasped out and stared at her in awe and shock. Marinette smiled gently back, glad to see that there was some sort of sparkle back in Adrien's deep green eyes.

Both of their cheeks flushed a delicate shade of red as Adrien's grip on Marinette's hand tightened slightly. Adrien swallowed, and Marinette watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down slightly as he did so. Her eyes soon gravitated towards his lips, and Marinette found herself licking her own. Unconsciously, they began very slowly leaning towards each other, like Marinette was a lost planet, ensnared by the unbearable gravitational pull of the warm, shining sun that was Adrien Agreste. Their lips were so tantalisingly close…

"ADRIEN!" a deep voice bellowed from nearby, and Adrien and Marinette both shrieked in fear and surprise, jolting away from each other like repelling magnets.

They both turned to gaze at where the source of the yelling was coming from, and Adrien groaned when they caught sight of Gabriel leaning his head out of the open back window of their car, glaring menacingly at them with his steely grey eyes.

"Get in the car this instant!" Gabriel ordered, and Adrien immediately bowed his head obediently, muttering a quick goodbye to Marinette before walking over to the silver car. His bodyguard climbed out of the front seat and opened the back door, ready for Adrien to climb inside.

"You are never to run away like that again," Marinette heard Gabriel scold Adrien as he climbed into the car.

His large gorilla-like bodyguard slammed the door shut behind Adrien, sadly cutting off Marinette's view of him. Gabriel turned back around to gaze out of the window, his grey eyes locking with Marinette's blue ones. Gabriel gave her a sinister smirk which sent a chill from the top of Marinette's head to the tip of her toes. He kept his gaze glued on her as he slowly rolled up his dark-tinted window, finally freeing Marinette from his intense stare before they drove off, leaving a very confused and startled Marinette behind.

That's when it dawned on her.

She had been about to kiss... _Adrien Agreste!_

Surely, this was all just a dream and Marinette would soon wake up much to her chagrin.

Just to be sure, Marinette pinched herself, but no, she didn't wake up. She wasn't dreaming. That must mean that her near kiss had really happened.

At that thought, Marinette slouched. _Near_ kiss. As in, it hadn't happened. They had been interrupted by his father. That thought caused Marinette's face to erupt into a bright shade of red. How much had his father seen?! Oh no, Marinette had been so wrong.

It turned out one simple shopping trip could be _very_ eventful.

.

As Nina Couture practically burst into her office, she erupted into a fresh, uncontrollable fit of laughter. She threw herself down onto her red couch, continuing to laugh loudly and almost manically as Leon quietly entered and closed the double doors behind them before staring at her with a confused frown on his face. Nina still laughed away, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched her stomach and kicked her legs out like a child being tickled.

"What could possibly be so funny, Madame?" Leon found himself unable to resist asking.

Nina managed to force herself to finally calm down slightly and sat up on the couch, wiping away her tears with her pale fingers.

"Adrien Agreste, the son of Gabriel and Emilie…" Nina choked out before she giggled again, "is _Chat Noir!_ "

Leon's eyes widened. "How did you figure that one out?"

"Oh please, Leon, after all this time you still doubt my skills?" Nina raised an eyebrow playfully at her assistant. "No miraculous holder has ever known its magic more than I do. But this, this is so obvious, an amateur could figure this one out."

Leon stared at her blankly.

Nina rolled her eyes. "For someone who wants to be in possession of a miraculous, you're not exactly doing well at learning its history and its magic, Leon." Nina sighed before laughing again. "I can tell because Marinette is in love with him. The ladybug and cat miraculous holders are always close and deeply love each other in one way or another."

"And…you're definitely sure about this, Madame?"

"Leon, what did I say about doubting my skills?" Nina playfully warned. "Oh how ironic destiny can be sometimes. My Ladybug in love with Gabriel and Emilie's son. It's almost too hilarious to comprehend!" She burst into another fit of giggles. "I wonder what poor dear Emilie Agreste would think if she was here right now."

Nina got up and walked over to the window, gazing out with a huge smirk on her face.

"It really is too bad she isn't here to see this unfold. _I made sure of that._ " Nina's smirk widened and grew more manic. "On this very day four years ago in fact. No wonder poor Adrien was looking so miserable today. He's better off without her though."

"Madame, she _was_ the boy's mother," Leon commented.

Nina slowly turned around, shooting Leon a patronising and scolding look before she began wailing, "do you think I care?! After everything that conniving little _bitch_ did to me over the years?! I think what happened to her was the very least of what she deserved!" Nina hissed, venom dripping from each and every word that she spoke.

Nina then turned back around, calming down in a split second before she continued to stare out of the window, watching the city below her. Her manic smile faded slightly, and she folded her arms across her chest. She knew she couldn't afford to get too arrogant right now. She had come so far, but she still had a long way to go in order for her plan to work.

For now, Nina knew she had to tread carefully. Marinette was a very smart girl, and those dreams she was having…surely it couldn't be…there was no way he was that powerful. Still, Nina knew it was best never to underestimate. Though she had to move cautiously, she also knew now more than ever that she had to move quickly before it was too late.

"Make no mistake Leon," Nina announced, a determined frown on her face, "Ladybug will be mine. It is the very purpose that she exists for."

* * *

 ***gasps* Please don't throw things at me. I know that cliffhanger was mean, but hey, it keeps you guys coming back for more. Well, I like to hope it does anyway. On that note, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you guys think. It's always a huge help. See you soon!**


	19. Losing Sanity

**Sorry that this chapter was a day delayed. Just when I thought I'd got back to normal updating schedule, life throws more crap at me. I am** _ **not**_ **having a good time this week. I'm in the middle of a little bit of a health scare so I'm in and out of the doctors on top of crappy mental health at the moment and my mom is out of town for a few days so I'm looking after my little brother which is always fun. I really hate being an adult. I wish I could go back in time and strangle my five-year-old self for wishing to grow up.**

 **In other news, I've posted a new Miraculous Ladybug fanfic if anyone is interested. It's called** _ **Madness Within**_ **. So if you're a huge fan of MariChat and love darker fanfics, then I recommend checking it out.**

 **Thank you so much for all of the reviews, favourites and follows. It means a lot to me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Losing Sanity**

"Marinette, it's nearly three in the morning, you can't force yourself to stay up forever," Tikki insisted for the millionth time that night.

All Marinette did was sigh in response as she continued to work on knitting her scarf. Her eye twitched slightly at the fact that, though knitting was supposed to be calming, it didn't seem to be having any effect tonight. Instead, Marinette remained an anxious mess, her mind continually drifting back to her near kiss with Adrien that day.

Her face instantly turned red again at the memory. Had he…had he been leaning in to return the kiss? Marinette found herself unable to trust her own memory. _Oh no_ , how was she going to face him at school tomorrow?! Especially when he was supposed to be tutoring her!

Internally cringing, Marinette tried counting to ten in her head to the rhythm of her knitting, in the hopes of focusing her mind and keeping it off the gorgeousness that was Adrien Agreste. His lips so close to hers… _focus Marinette! One, two, three, four. Loop the yarn around the needle._

Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Marinette did her best to ignore the condescending sighs coming out of her little red companion. She knew Tikki was right. Her eyes were screaming at her and burning from lack of sleep. She just hoped she had enough make-up to cover the dark shadows she knew would be under her eyes tomorrow.

Maybe she could sneak some coffee – even though she didn't like coffee that much. What would Adrien think of her if she came in looking like a zombie? Maybe she _should_ try and get some sleep…no! If she fell asleep then she would likely only have another horrifying nightmare, and Marinette did not want to go through that again. Each nightmare only became worse and worse, and now it was at the point where she was even inflicting injuries upon herself while she was sleeping.

Clearly going to sleep was out of the question tonight.

"You have school tomorrow, Marinette; what if you fall asleep in class?"

Groaning, Marinette finished the scarf and slammed her needles down on her desk in front of her. She loved Tikki with all her heart, but she sure could nag sometimes. It could be like having an extra parent tagging along sometimes.

Tikki stood her ground, shooting Marinette a disapproving look when her holder still didn't answer her. Marinette merely laid back in her chair before searching for some Jagged Stone music in her playlists. Maybe his music would help keep her awake.

"I know what you're doing, Marinette…and please stop ignoring me," Tikki sighed, floating in front of Marinette's face, forcing her holder to look at her.

"Just leave it, Tikki," Marinette pleaded, turning the volume of her music up.

Tikki shook her head. "I know you're scared of going to sleep, Marinette, but you can't stay awake forever. It's not healthy. I know I probably scared you when I said your nightmares could be a bad omen, but they still are just dreams; they can't hurt you."

"It's not that," Marinette sighed out.

"Well, what is it then? Please talk to me, Marinette."

"It's the fact that my dreams are so _disturbing_. Do you think it's fun experiencing all that? Dreaming of gruesome dead bodies, really creepy scenes and orange eyes watching my every move isn't exactly something that makes you feel comfortable shutting your eyes at night. Not to mention the fact that one of my best friends turns against me in my dreams which leads to us stealing each other's miraculous. I get that you're trying to reassure me, Tikki, and I appreciate that, I really do, but right now what I need is a little understanding and not have my fears dismissed." Marinette found herself out of breath by the time her small rant was over. She collapsed down onto her desk, burying her head in her arms.

Tikki began gently stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry," Tikki whispered, "I guess it's just that…well…I'm a little scared too."

"You are?" This made Marinette look up, peaking at her kwami with slightly widened eyes. "I thought kwamis weren't afraid of anything?"

"Quite the contrary," Tikki explained, "we kwamis can get very attached to our holders, and I deeply care about you, Marinette. I don't like seeing you in pain, and I don't like the fact that something indeed might happen to you and I can do nothing to prevent it."

"Something's going to happen to me?!"

Tikki's eyes widened. "No no no, that came out wrong! I just meant in terms of the bad omen. Something might happen with your relationship with Chat Noir, and I'm just worried you guys are going to end up fighting. It's something I don't want to go through again."

Marinette sighed. "I wouldn't worry about that, Tikki. I don't hate Chat Noir. In fact I –"

"What?"

Marinette pressed her lips together into a tight line before looking away awkwardly. "Nothing."

"No, what is it?" Tikki probed.

"It doesn't matter," Marinette insisted, feeling her heart pounding away in her chest.

Thankfully, Tikki didn't press any further much to Marinette's relief. While listening to her music, Marinette began gazing out of her window at the stars, wondering what Chat Noir was doing right now. Tomorrow they had patrol together in the evening, so Marinette was really hoping to get a chance to talk to him about what was going on. After all, she had made him a promise, and if Tikki was correct in her assumption, then this involved him too.

Also, Marinette wondered if Chat Noir was having dreams like this too. Then maybe together, they could figure something out since Master Fu was apparently out of the question. That thought made Marinette frown. However, she tried to push it to the back of her mind for now; she didn't want to get herself too worked up again.

Focusing on the twinkling of the stars, Marinette could feel her eyes growing heavier and heavier, but she managed to fight it off. Laying down clearly wasn't one of her brightest ideas, so Marinette sat up and stretched in an attempt to wake herself up. Her music continued to blare, and Jagged Stone's voice filled the room. As he was in the middle of a guitar solo, Marinette turned around and shrieked in horror at what she saw.

In the middle of her floor, laid the blood covered body of Chat Noir. His blood seeped into her carpet as he lay face down, his features covered by his wild blond hair.

Stumbling out of her chair, tears formed in Marinette's eyes as she stared at the broken body of her partner. Finally, she managed to force herself to take a few steps closer before slowly and gently pushing strands of his hair out of the way, placing her fingers on his neck.

No pulse.

Screaming, Marinette fell backwards, and that's when she noticed she was in her Ladybug costume. This made Marinette gasp; she didn't remember saying _spots on_. Marinette blinked, hoping that Chat Noir's lifeless body would vanish and that this was all just some crazy hallucination.

No such luck.

That's when Marinette looked down. Her hands were soaked in blood – his blood. Worse than that, resting in the palm of her hand was Chat Noir's miraculous. Gasping in fear and shock, Marinette looked back up, only this time, instead of Chat Noir, it was Adrien's lifeless body laying covered in blood in the middle of her bedroom floor.

Screaming, Marinette dropped his ring before yelping in pain as she felt something grab hold of her arm tightly. Marinette twisted around, her eyes widening when she realised that the space around her was completely empty. Despite no one clearly being there, Marinette still felt what felt like a hand was gripping her upper arm tightly, and it squeezed her muscle as if begging for attention.

What was this? A ghost? Or was she just going crazy? Her mind reeled, and her heart felt like it was about to take off out of chest through fear. Tears spilled out of her terror-stricken blue eyes. As the hand continued to squeeze her arm, Marinette let out another scream.

With a jolt, Marinette suddenly felt like she was falling backwards. Her eyes snapped open only to realise too late that she had pushed herself away from her desk. Marinette braced for impact as she fell backwards out of her desk chair and collided with her floor with a painful thump.

"Marinette!" Tikki cried out, flying down towards her from her usual sleeping spot.

Ignoring the pain, Marinette's eyes darted around her bedroom. Bright sunlight was now seeping in through her window, causing Marinette to blink as she remained dazed and confused. With a fearful gasp, Marinette whipped her head around to stare at the middle of her bedroom floor.

No lifeless body of Chat Noir or Adrien was there.

However, Marinette's gaze remained glued to that spot. It had just been a dream. She must have fallen asleep when she laid her head down against her desk. Damn it, Marinette thought to herself, she really needed to be more careful.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Tikki asked when Marinette didn't reply.

Finally, Marinette pried her eyes away from that one spot on her floor. She looked down and slowly nodded, ashamed that this was effecting her so much.

Tikki swooped down and gave her cheek a little nuzzle, and Marinette was grateful for the comfort.

 _Throb._

Marinette froze in fear.

 _Throb._

No. No no no no no!

Please, _no!_

Marinette remained frozen as her arm continued to throb in pain. Right in the exact spot the invisible hand had grabbed her in her dream. Unable to ignore it any longer, Marinette quickly rolled up the sleeve of her pyjama top and gasped loudly. On her upper arm, a bruise was beginning to form…a bruise in the shape of a handprint.

Shrieking, Marinette dropped the sleeve of her shirt and began freaking out. This couldn't just be some injury she got in her sleep. This…this was something terrifying.

"Tikki," Marinette whimpered, close to tears.

"What is it, Marinette?"

"My-my-my arm," was all Marinette could stutter out.

Tikki stared at her holder, her blue eyes full of confusion and concern. "I don't understand."

"My arm." Marinette rolled up her sleeve again, only this time, she couldn't bring herself to look at it again.

She felt like her throat was painfully contracting, causing her breaths to come out in wild gasps as if she had been running a marathon. Sweat dripped down her face, and her heart was beating so fast, she felt as though she might go into cardiac arrest. The little red kwami inspected her holder's arm, and Marinette shot her an incredulous look when all her kwami did was look at it in confusion.

"You grabbed your arm in your sleep?"

"No!" Marinette shrieked like a crazy person. "Someone else did!"

"Marinette, are you sure? I've been with you the whole time and no one else came into your room while you slept. I would have woken up if they did," Tikki tried her best to calmly explain and reassure her now erratic holder.

"How could it have been me?" Marinette demanded, forcing herself to look down at the bruise on her arm. "Look!" Marinette demanded before taking her own hand and placing it on top of the obvious handprint on her arm.

The evidence was undeniable. The handprint on her arm was much bigger than Marinette's own hand.

Tikki gulped.

"Now do you believe me?!" Marinette cried out, rolling her sleeve back down so she wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

"I…" Tikki looked petrified and completely flummoxed. "I don't understand."

"So this never happened to a past ladybug?" Marinette began pacing her room up and down, running her fingers through her hair and messing it up.

Her eyes were completely wild, unable to stay still as they darted around the room in paranoia and fear. Her skin was sickly pale, and strands of her hair clung to her sweat covered skin. This was all becoming too much. She didn't know how much more she could handle. Her arm continued to throb – a painful reminder that she was losing her mind.

"N-no," Tikki finally responded.

Marinette let out another fearful, unintelligible shriek before quickening her pacing.

"Okay okay, calm down," Tikki tried to soothe her beyond terrified holder, "there's got to be a reasonable explanation."

"Tikki," Marinette hissed, "there's a powerful force invading my dreams, how can any of this be considered reasonable?!"

"I'm only trying to help, Marinette."

Marinette took a deep breath. "I know, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I understand."

"And I'm sure it's the holder of the peacock miraculous," Marinette insisted. "We've got to go talk to Master Fu! He'll know what to do!"

"No, Marinette!"

"This isn't fair!" Marinette cried out. "There's some dangerous psycho on the loose who's clearly targeting me, and you won't let me go see the one person who could help!"

Tikki frowned. "First of all, we don't even know if it is the peacock miraculous holder. Secondly, I'm under strict instructions from Master Fu to never bring up the peacock miraculous holder, nor am I allowed to constantly bring you to him lest it raise suspicions. Thirdly, even if I could bring you to him, I can't do it right now."

"Why not?" Marinette demanded.

Tikki sighed. "Because you have school in five minutes."

"What?!" Marinette screamed before whipping her head around to look at her computer screen. The bright numbers in the corner clearly displayed the time: eight twenty-five.

Marinette's stomach dropped down to her feet within a split second before she pulled at her pigtails in panic.

"No no no!" she cried out.

But Marinette didn't have time to freeze and panic. With her arms flailing around wildly, she ran around her room picking up her clothes and hastily put them on. She cleaned her teeth and combed her hair as fast as she could before she yanked her backpack off the floor and darted downstairs. She uttered a quick hello to her parents and they waved back, used to their daughter being unorganised and late at this point in her life.

The outside of her school was empty at this point, and Marinette groaned when she heard the bell that ended roll call. Great, now she was going to be late for study period. Late for… _Adrien!_

At that thought, Marinette picked up her pace, running into the school building as fast as possible and charging down the now empty corridors. Why oh why did the library have to be on the other side of the school? It was if the universe was mocking her right now.

Skidding just in time to stop herself from running past the double doors that led to the library, Marinette didn't think and just nosily burst inside.

"I'm here, Adrien!" she called out as she tripped over the threshold, crashing down to the hardwood floor.

People in the library either began shushing her or burst out laughing at her embarrassing display. Like always, Marinette's face immediately turned bright red, and her eyes scanned the library to see Adrien sat at a table waiting for her, giving her an incredulous look before smiling and getting up to walk over to her.

Marinette surrendered herself to the shame and was about to pick herself up when Adrien offered his hand out to her. Marinette stared at it for a few seconds as if it was the most sacred hand in the world before she slowly placed her own hand in his. His hand felt warm and strong around hers; a perfect fit. His skin was smooth and perfect, and Marinette began daydreaming about how wonderful it would feel to be able to hold his hand all the time. Together as boyfriend and girlfriend. As man and wife.

"Marinette?"

The sound of her name snapped her back down to reality with a hard bump. She shook her head, her face turning even redder – if that was even possible at this point – once she realised she had likely been staring at Adrien with a dopey smile on her face this whole time. Marinette awkwardly snatched her hand out of Adrien's, which had already loosened around hers.

Embarrassed, Marinette placed a hand behind her head and tried to act casual.

"Errr, s-sorry, what?" _Nailed it_.

"I said, are you okay Marinette?" Adrien asked with a confused and awkward smile on his face.

"Y-yeah." Marinette did her best to smile reassuringly. "I'm used to injuries from hardwood – I mean – no! That came out really wrong!" Marinette gasped, pulling at her hair, now unable to look Adrien in the eye.

Adrien stared at her with wide eyes for a second before he burst out laughing. Marinette pulled the neckline of her jacket up in an attempt to hide at least some of her crimson red face. Way to make herself look like even more of a creepy weirdo in front of Adrien. And she had been doing so well yesterday to not make a fool of herself in front of him. Except for the… _oh god!_ What if Adrien remembered? What if he noticed that Marinette had been leaning in towards him? What if he didn't want to tutor her now? Marinette wanted to hit herself for being so stupid.

Adrien's laughter finally calmed down. "I never knew you could be so funny, Marinette."

Marinette laughed awkwardly, "When your whole life is a joke, you don't need to put in any effort to be funny."

This just made Adrien burst out laughing again, though he also shot her a sympathetic look. "Aww Marinette, your life isn't a joke."

Marinette just sighed. "Feels that way sometimes."

"Are you alright, Mari?" Adrien asked, growing more and more concerned.

"I'm fine," Marinette lied, her ears perking up at Adrien shortening her name, something which only people who felt like they were close to her did.

Did…did this mean Adrien felt like they were close now? Did he feel comfortable around her now? Marinette struggled to contain her excitement at that thought.

"It's just," Adrien said as he rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks turning slightly pink, "you tend to make self-deprecating jokes when you're upset or stressed."

Marinette blinked. Did she? She had never really noticed before, and she nearly fainted at the fact that Adrien had obviously been paying attention to her if he picked up on a habit that she didn't even realise she had. Honestly, Marinette now found herself completely speechless. Adrien watched her face carefully which made Marinette feel slightly uncomfortable. As if sensing this, Adrien looked down before taking her hand again.

"Come on, let's sit down and you can tell me what you struggle with."

Marinette was grateful for the subject change and had to contain a squeal at the fact that Adrien was holding her hand again. That's when Marinette caught Alya's gaze. She was standing with Nino by one of the book shelves, and they were both staring at her and Adrien with wide, disbelieving eyes. Cheeks red and a dreamy expression on her face, Marinette gave the two of them a brief wave and they waved slowly back before Alya winked at her in encouragement. Marinette could have sworn she heard Alya quickly whisper to Nino about a ship sailing, but it was too quiet and quick for Marinette to be sure.

Adrien lead her over towards the table he was sitting on, his books were neatly piled and organised ready for work, which made Marinette sigh to herself. He was so perfect at everything. Like a true gentleman, Adrien pulled out the seat next to his for her to sit down, and Marinette smiled gratefully and sat down. Adrien followed suit and turned to face towards her.

"So, what is it you most struggle with?" he asked.

Marinette thought for a moment. "I don't know. Physics I guess?"

"No problem." Adrien smiled. "Do you have your textbook with you?"

That's when Marinette realised that in her haste this morning, she had forgotten to pack all of the books she needed for the day. Frustrated and embarrassed, Marinette slammed her head against the desk, though she instantly regretted it as it caused the bump on her head she got from one of her nightmares to begin throbbing again. Great, now she felt paranoid and on edge again thanks to being reminded of her creepy nightmares.

"I forgot," Marinette grumbled.

"Didn't that hurt?" Adrien asked, and she could feel his wide, green eyes burning holes in the back of her head.

"Yes," Marinette admitted, sitting back up to rub her forehead.

Adrien gasped. "What did you do to your forehead?"

Marinette gasped as well, realising that rubbing her forehead must have brushed her hair out of the way, allowing Adrien to see the painful looking bump she was now sporting next to her graze.

"N-nothing," Marinette lied, removing her hand and patting her bangs back down to hide her injuries from view.

"Marinette, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Marinette insisted before turning towards Adrien with a sad smile. "If anything, I should be asking if you're okay."

"Oh," Adrien replied, looking down at the desk.

"Oh no, I'm sorry for bringing it up!" Marinette gasped out, wishing she could just learn to keep her stupid mouth shut.

"No no, it's okay," Adrien said, "I just, as pathetic as it sounds, I'm not really used to someone caring and taking an interest; it's nice."

"Adrien…" Marinette whispered feeling like she could cry at how sad Adrien sounded right now.

Her mind was plagued with thoughts about how lonely Adrien must feel sometimes. His mother missing from his life, a father who rarely provided any emotional support, and having little contact with other people in life apart from servants. She didn't doubt that Adrien's father did love him, he just had a very toxic way of showing it, and it broke Marinette's heart. She was glad that Adrien could get away from that environment when he was at school, and Marinette now resolved to do her best to make sure Adrien felt accepted and cared for.

"How are you feeling today?" Marinette asked, deep concern lacing her voice.

Adrien sighed. "Better than yesterday, though father still isn't talking to me after what I did yesterday. Though I suppose I'll see him less than normal these next coming days what with the party to prepare for."

"Party? What party?" Marinette asked, feeling confused.

"Everybody's talking about it," Adrien explained, "haven't you kept up to date with the Ladyblog lately?"

"I didn't realise you were interested in that?" Marinette asked in surprise.

Adrien's cheeks turned pink. "Y-yeah well…i-it is run by Alya…so I do it out of…umm…f-friendship?" He rubbed the back of his head, unable to look her in the eye.

"R-right," was all Marinette could respond with, confused as to why Adrien was acting so strange all of a sudden.

It was only the Ladyblog. She didn't mean to embarrass him by drawing attention to the fact that he kept up to date with it. Pretty much everyone did, and she was kind of flattered that Adrien admired her superhero alter ego, though she did wish he would pay attention to the real girl behind the mask.

"Anyway," Adrien said as he shook his head, "Mayor Bourgeois is holding a huge ball with Ladybug and Chat Noir as honorary guests in celebration of the defeat of so many akumas and keeping the city safe. The video of him inviting Ladybug and Chat Noir was put on the Ladyblog last night. Lots more people have also been invited, including my father."

Marinette wanted to slap herself for not frequently checking the Ladyblog lately. A ball? Marinette wasn't sure how she felt about that. It felt like something that would be the perfect opportunity for Hawkmoth to attack, knowing where they were going to be. Partying with high class people in society? Marinette wasn't sure she could handle that either, and if Mayor Bourgeois was the host then that meant Chloé was definitely going to be there.

That thought instantly put a sour taste in Marinette's mouth like she had just been sucking on a lemon. Then there was the fact of would it really be appropriate for her to go to a party right now? With everything that was going on, Marinette needed to be on high alert and try and figure out what was going on. A huge party would likely just be a distraction she couldn't afford right now.

"A-are you going?" Marinette asked timidly.

Adrien shook his head. "There's no way my father would let me. Especially after what happened yesterday."

Dang, then what was the point? Adrien would have been her one and only motivation to go.

"I'm sorry." Marinette gave him a small reassuring smile. "Your dad did look pretty mad yesterday."

"You have no idea." Adrien shuddered.

Swallowing down her fear, Marinette shyly touched the top of Adrien's hand with hers in a feeble attempt to offer him some form of comfort. Adrien gasped lightly, but otherwise made no attempt to remove his hand from hers. They remained frozen like that for a few seconds until Adrien moved his hand so it was now wrapped around Marinette's, and they both smiled at each other.

Marinette soon found herself lost in his beautiful green eyes, and watched in fascination as his pupils dilated slightly. His cheeks turned pink again, and both of their eyes soon found themselves drifting towards each other's lips again. However, this time, Adrien sighed and then retracted his hand from hers, much to Marinette's disappointment.

"We'll just share my textbook," Adrien offered, changing the subject and getting things back to normal. "So, what exactly is it that you're struggling with?"

"Umm, everything I guess?" Marinette sighed as she sat rigidly still next to him, her head spinning around in a confused mess at Adrien's actions.

.

Master Fu smiled as he watched his last costumer of the day leave. His bones cracking slightly, he stood up, and now that the coast was clear, Wayzz flew out from his hiding place ready to assist his master with anything he needed. Master Fu merely stared at his green turtle kwami with a sad smile before he ran his fingers across his bracelet.

"Wayzz, my dear friend," Master Fu began, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to renounce you for a while."

"What?" Wayzz asked in confusion.

"A great evil has returned to the city, and if she was to get her hands on any of the other miraculous, the results would be devastating," Master Fu explained.

"But, Master –"

"It is the only way," Master Fu interrupted him. "However, there is something important that you must do for me."

Wayzz nodded. "Yes, Master."

"There will come a point where Marinette will come here. If something should happen to me between that time and I am not able to speak with her, the first thing she will likely do is take the miraculous to safety and summon you for answers."

Wayzz nodded again.

"And there is a message that I need you to pass on to her." Master Fu was about to speak again when the sudden sound of a door being slammed against prevented him from doing so.

Master Fu gasped and quickly turned back to Wayzz and took off his bracelet.

"Wayzz, I renounce you."

Wayzz gasped as he was sucked back into the miraculous. The bracelet glowed green before becoming dull once again. Hastily, Master Fu placed it back in its appropriate slot and closed the miraculous box, hiding it once again inside the record player. Confident that they were now all safely hidden, Master Fu turned towards the sound of two pairs of loud footsteps with a determined frown on his face.

Nina Couture slowly made her way around the corner, her high heels clicking loudly against the wooden floor. A smirk grew on her face when she caught sight Master Fu standing in the middle of the room, patiently waiting for her. Master Fu merely stood there watching her as Leon followed in behind her. Nina looked Master Fu up and down, her smile only growing wider and more manic.

"Hello… _Master_ ," Nina greeted him, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Hello, Nina," Master Fu greeted her back politely. "You're looking well."

Nina's face grew thunderous, though her voice remained calm. "Was that supposed to be funny?"

"No." Master Fu remained polite.

Nina smiled again. "Good. After you and Emilie decided to leave me for dead, I'm rather shocked that you're not more surprised to see me."

"Sabine Cheng knows you are here," Master Fu explained, "she informed me yesterday of the situation. She'll be fleeing with Marinette soon and you'll never get your hands on her."

"Is that so?" Nina scoffed. "What if I get to her before Sabine can flee with her?"

"You and I both know you can't do that." Master Fu smirked.

Nina's smile faltered.

"Because you don't have your miraculous."

"And whose fault is that!" Nina screamed, flying into a rage. "Emilie took everything away from me. Everything that was rightfully mine!"

"And that justified what you did to her? Your own best friend?" Master Fu calmly scolded her. "You caused her to suffer a fate worse than death."

"It was no less than she deserved." Nina rolled her eyes. "I thought that butterfly brooch had disappeared with her, but now I understand I made a miscalculation. It didn't disappear with her, and now her husband is in possession of it."

"So, Gabriel Agreste _is_ Hawkmoth after all," Master Fu mused.

"Don't tell me you weren't sure." Nina laughed. "You used to be smart, old man."

"Is that anyway to talk to your master?" Master Fu smiled at her. "I remember you so fondly Nina. You were such a bright young girl. You were such a promising miraculous wielder. What happened to you, my dear?"

"Don't go all understanding on me! It's too late for all of that!" Nina yelled, clenching her hands into tight fists. "Now where are all the other miraculous?!"

Master Fu remained silent, simply glaring back at her.

Nina sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose before she looked back up and smirked at him. Her face grew dark, and her grin was sadistic as her deep blue eyes sparkled dangerously. She took one small step towards Master Fu as she clasped her hands together behind her back. She began to circle Master Fu like a tiger stalking its prey, agitated and ready to pounce.

Master Fu on the other hand, remained calm, leaning forwards against his walking stick, a small frown on his face as he refused to be intimidated by her. This only served to visibly make Nina angrier.

"Now," Nina chuckled out, "we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Master Fu remained silent.

This only made Nina chuckle even more.

"Fine. The hard way it is," she purred as the sadistic grin that danced across her lips widened before slowly stalking towards Master Fu.

* * *

 **I was running on three hours sleep when I wrote most of this chapter, so I hope I managed to catch most of the errors while I was proof reading. However I often notice that the chapters with the most typos are the ones I wrote in a fitter state and proof read multiple times. Sods law I guess. I apologise if there are some errors I missed.**

 **Anyway, feel free to let me know what you guys think. Not too sure when my next update will be at this point with everything I've got going on at the moment, I'm just so all over the place right now. But I promise it will be soon.**


	20. Exposed Secrets

**Hello again everyone! Sorry this update took longer than normal, I just really needed to get myself sorted. I've been busy with an assignment and I've been a bit of an emotional wreck this past week and didn't really get much chance to sit down properly and write. Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews, reading them made me so happy. Also thank you to everyone who has added this story to their favourites and followed it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Exposed Secrets**

Marinette could feel her already miserable mood sinking even lower as she walked home from school. Her study date – though it wasn't really a date – with Adrien hadn't exactly gone as she had hoped. Instead, as usual, she had just ended up humiliating herself. Adrien had remained fairly quiet with her for most of the time, focusing only on their work instead of talking to her casually like they had before…

Marinette wanted to hit herself. Hit herself and then crawl into a deep, dark hole and never come out. She wanted to hide away in shame for all eternity.

Once again, she had moved in to try and kiss him without thinking. What on earth must Adrien think of her? No wonder he was behaving so weirdly with her. He must think she's some creepy and obsessed weirdo. He was just putting up with her to be polite. Marinette should've known.

Drowning even more in her own ocean of embarrassment and misery, Marinette made her way inside the apartment. Her parents must have closed the bakery early today as the door was locked and no one was around. Marinette didn't think much of it though; sometimes her parents had closed by the time she got home from school. Dragging her feet up the stairs, Marinette was just about to put her key into the front door when she froze at what sounded like her parents arguing inside.

"Sabine, honey, I just don't think this is the answer," she heard her father almost beg.

"There's nothing else we can do, Tom!" Her mother sounded incredibly panicked. "The plan failed. Emilie is gone and now it's up to me to do what's right in order to protect her."

"If she found us before, she'll find us again," Tom explained, "so what do you want us to do? Be on the run forever?"

Marinette frowned. Okay, now it _really_ felt like her parents were up to something. Being on the run? What could they possibly be talking about? Marinette could feel her heartbeat quickening in her chest as she leaned closer to the door so she could listen better. It sounded like one of them was pacing. Her mother perhaps? The footsteps were pretty light.

"Well if you have any better ideas, Tom, feel free to share them!"

"Okay, calm down, I know you're frightened," Tom tried his best to reassure his wife.

"Frightened? Tom, I'm absolutely petrified. I thought we were done with all of this. Emilie told us she would fix it all for us, but look where that got her. All of this…it brings it all back…I…I…"

"Oh, Sabine."

It sounded like her father got up, and Marinette barely managed to contain her gasp at what sounded like her mother beginning to cry.

"I can't go through all this again. I can't lose her."

"I know, ssssh, I can't bear that thought either." Her father sounded like he too was close to tears.

"We can't let that witch get near her."

Marinette pulled away from the door slightly in confusion. Now it sounded like her mother was talking gibberish. Can't let who get near who? Whatever her parents were talking about, it sounded incredibly important. So, why hadn't Marinette been told about all of this? Why were her parents keeping secrets from her? The very possibility that they had indeed been hiding things from her pained her. She always thought she could trust her parents. Yet here they were. Talking amongst themselves, clearly up to something. Shaking her head as tears of betrayal formed in her eyes, Marinette leaned closer again to listen some more.

"I still think we should tell her the truth. That way we don't have to worry about her being manipulated, and then maybe she can stop her. Like you said, if she is La –"

Sabine gasped, "don't say it, don't say it!"

Tom sighed. "If she is – you know – then surely she can stop her."

"We can't take that risk." Sabine let out another sob. "If that much has come true then surely that means the rest could also happen. I vowed to protect her, and that's what I'm going to do. I don't care what it takes. If I have to lay down my own life, then I will."

"I would do that in a heartbeat too."

They both remained silent for a few minutes.

"When are you going to tell her?" Tom asked.

Sabine sniffed, sounding slightly calmer than before. "Closer to the time. I can't risk anyone knowing. Now we should stop talking about this now; Marinette will be home any minute."

"Right."

Marinette sighed and backed away from the door as she heard her parents move to sit on the couch. The muffled sounds of the TV reached her ears, and all Marinette could do was remain frozen. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to think. The entire world around her felt like it was spinning, and all she could do was stare straight ahead, her blue eyes wide and unblinking with pure panic.

What were her parents up to? _How_ could they be up to something? They were _Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng._ Two of the most normal and loving parents in the world. Always so sweet and innocent, and Marinette loved and adored them with every fibre of her being.

How was Marinette going to play this now? She wasn't sure what to do. Should she confront them? Doing that wouldn't likely get her very far. Her parents seemed dead set on keeping whatever it was they were up to a secret from her. Would she have to go snooping again? That didn't exactly turn up any results.

It seemed that all Marinette could do for now was act natural while she figured out a way to find out what was going on, since it seemed likely that her parents won't say anything Her parents were clearly scared of something, and when Marinette found out what it was, she was going to do her utmost to protect them. She was Ladybug after all. If she could protect all of Paris, then she could and would protect her parents.

With her plan set, Marinette took a deep breath, and with a shaky hand, unlocked the front door before she slowly walked inside. She shut and locked the door behind her before she peaked into the living room where her parents were acting as if nothing just happened. They both looked up and smiled at her as she entered, and Marinette smiled shakily back.

"Hello, dear, how was school?" Sabine asked.

"Errr…yeah…great."

Marinette was starting to feel really awkward. Having just heard what she had, she really didn't know what to say to them right now without screaming and crying and begging for them to tell her what was going on, as well as what had them both so scared. The latter fact meant that it had to be something incredibly serious, and not knowing terrified Marinette beyond belief.

Despite her parents admitting how scared they were, they certainly didn't look it right now. How long had they been keeping this important secret from her? How long had they been carrying out this happy and normal façade? Memories of her whole entire life engulfed Marinette and overwhelmed her, as she examined every detail of her life to try and pick out any change in her parents. Any hint that they had been hiding something from her.

There was none.

Either this was something recent that had occurred, or Marinette's parents were actually scarily good liars and actors unlike what Marinette had previous thought. The latter thought scared Marinette to death.

"Bet you have a decent pile of homework," her dad chuckled out, bringing Marinette back down to the real world with a jolt.

"Errr, yeah, I have. So…" Marinette began edging her way towards the stairs. "I'm just gonna go do that right now. I think it's best if I'm not disturbed."

"Sure." Her dad smiled at her while her mother looked away.

Marinette gave her parents one last wide, awkward smile before she darted up the stairs and closed the hatch that led into her bedroom behind her. Marinette let out a deep breath as she flopped down onto the floor and stared up at her ceiling. Tikki flew out of her purse and gazed at Marinette with a confused expression.

"What was all that about with your parents?"

Marinette sighed before frowning. "I don't know. But I'm more convinced than ever that they're hiding something from me."

"I think I'm actually inclined to agree," Tikki said, sounding slightly nervous, "though it can't be anything _that_ bad, I mean, this is your parents we're talking about."

"Is it?" Marinette asked miserably before heaving herself off the floor and moving to sit down on her desk chair. She dropped her backpack next to her before she held her head in her hands. "Because I'm starting to feel like I don't know them anymore. They've been acting so weird lately."

"I'm sure it's not something to worry too much about," Tikki tried to reassure her, sitting down on Marinette's shoulder and giving her cheek a quick pat.

"Maybe…" Marinette agreed. "But something has clearly frightened them and I want to find out what it is."

"Yes, but we have more important things to worry about right now," Tikki reminded her. "Are you going to talk to Chat Noir tonight about your dreams?"

Marinette slouched down and buried her head in her arms. It made it slightly difficult for her to breathe, but she figured that was a good thing right now. If she passed out then she wouldn't have to deal with all this right now. She knew it had to be done though. She promised Chat that she wouldn't keep anything from him again.

The thought of telling him about all of this sent a shameful shudder up her spine. She was probably going to sound absolutely crazy to him. But if Tikki thought that it meant something, then she needed to keep Chat Noir in the loop. If he knew, then maybe they could both figure it out together and make sure they didn't fall out like Tikki was worried was going to happen. This would hopefully at least give Tikki some peace of mind. It might relieve some of her own stress too to have someone else in the know. If she couldn't talk to Master Fu, then maybe Chat Noir was the next best thing.

"I guess," Marinette finally answered Tikki's question. "What if he thinks I'm crazy though?"

Tikki shook her heard. "He won't, Chat's not like that and you know it."

"You're right," Marinette sighed as she picked up Chat Noir's finished scarf.

Despite everything she had done to him lately, he continued to be so good to her. That thought put a small smile on her face and made her feel slightly better about telling him. Tikki was right; Chat Noir would take her seriously. However, that still didn't stop Marinette's nerves entirely, and her hand shook slightly as she picked up some shiny gold wrapping paper before placing the scarf inside. Marinette delicately wrapped the scarf up before tying a dark green ribbon around it.

Marinette really hoped that he liked it. It wasn't much, but it was the least she could do to thank him for putting up with her weirdness lately. He truly was the best partner that any ladybug could ever ask for. He was so sweet and caring and…Marinette violently shook her head which earned her a confused glance from Tikki.

"I suppose I better get this out of the way." Marinette tried her best to smile despite her nerves.

Tikki smiled back and floated up, ready for Marinette to say the words.

Marinette quickly transformed into Ladybug and gripped the small present tightly in her hands as she climbed up to her balcony. The evenings were getting chillier and chillier, and the cold autumn breeze felt sharp against Ladybug's exposed skin. Luckily her suit protected her from most of the chilly evening air.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves down some more, Ladybug unhooked her yo-yo from around her waist and swung it towards the nearest building. She carried herself through the air, trying to ignore the feeling of her heart pounding away in her chest. _It's okay, Ladybug_ , she chanted to herself over and over in her head, _you can do this. It's just Chat_.

Ladybug quickly reached their usual meeting place for their evening patrols around the city. She sat herself down on one of the chimneys and placed the small present beside her before she began waiting. She was starting to wish that she hadn't shown up so early; it left her alone with her thoughts.

Images from her dreams began assaulting every inch of her mind once again, each one feeling like a violent punch to the head. The memories of all of the blood and the orange eyes cause Ladybug to begin trembling slightly. She even found herself looking around, beginning to feel paranoid, not convinced by Tikki's theory that the holder of the peacock miraculous was gone.

Tikki believed that these were just memories that she was experiencing. That she had somehow met the peacock miraculous holder at some point in her life. But…surely Ladybug would have remembered something like that? It didn't make any sense. And who was that woman on the mountain? And the man in the house?

Feeling herself beginning to hyperventilate slightly, Ladybug got up and began pacing the roof. _One, two, three, four_ , she counted each step that she took in a futile attempt to somehow distract her mind. However, each small pause she took between the numbers allowed flashes of memories of her dreams to seep through, startling her every single time.

Ladybug quickened her pacing to try and stop this.

 _Onetwothreefourfivesixseven_ …

"Hey, Bugaboo!"

"AHHH!" Ladybug screamed and jumped into the air, feeling like her heart was trying to lurch right out of her chest.

"Whoa, relax, it's only me," Chat Noir reassured her, staring at her in concern. His hands were held in the air as if to reach out and touch her, though he also looked unsure as to whether that would be the right thing to do.

Despite Ladybug visibly relaxing once she knew it was only Chat Noir, he still looked at her with a very concerned expression.

"Sorry about that," Ladybug apologised awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head.

"Are you okay?" Chat asked.

"Y-Yeah, just feeling a little bit jumpy," she explained, her nerves increasing now that she knew she had to explain everything to him right this minute.

Chat didn't seem too convinced by her response, his face forming into a suspicious frown as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I thought we agreed no more secrets."

"I know…" Ladybug sighed. "And actually, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about tonight."

"Oh?" Chat seemed intrigued.

Ladybug bit her lip, pressing her teeth almost painfully hard against it before she forced herself to sit down. A lump formed in her throat in an anxious attempt to stop her from speaking, but Ladybug forced herself to swallow it down. As nervous as she was, she couldn't run from this any longer. She had to tell Chat. It was for the best and it was only fair.

Patting the space next to her, Ladybug averted her eyes, unable to look Chat Noir in the eye as he sat down next to her and watched her worriedly yet curiously. Ladybug raked her brain, trying to find the right words and figure out where to even begin in explaining all of this weirdness. Chat Noir was patient with her though, letting her speak when she was ready. In the meantime, he just watched her, which, admittedly, made Ladybug a little uncomfortable. She knew that deep down, Chat Noir was dying to know what was going on, but he was being patient…for her sake. That thought melted Ladybug slightly and helped in giving her the courage to speak.

"It's a little hard to explain," Ladybug began, "but lately I keep having these really weird dreams, most of them nightmares."

"Okay?"

"And they're awful, Chat," Ladybug began choking up slightly as she recalled all of the horrible nightmares she had had these past few weeks. "I can't even begin to describe them, but at first they mainly involved me and you."

Ladybug wasn't sure she could bring herself to admit to the dreams in which she had kissed him. She was sure she could get away with omitting that tiny little detail. After all, it was the other stuff that was most important.

It was getting darker and darker out as the sun began to set over the horizon, and Ladybug watched out of the corner of her eye as Chat Noir's green eyes glowed, continuing to watch her and wait for her to continue speaking.

"At first, I had a dream in which you killed me. You sneaked up behind me and stabbed me in the back," Ladybug abruptly forced out at last.

Chat Noir gasped, his expression morphing into one of pure horror and disbelief.

"And in dreams after that, we would end up fighting and trying to take each other's miraculous," Ladybug continued to explain, fighting back tears. "But recently, they've developed into something more serious. At first, I just chalked them up to normal nightmares, but lately, things have escalated. In my dreams, I keep having these visions. First, I saw a woman, alone and bleeding on a mountain in the middle of a snowstorm. Then I was in this dark void, following a trail of blood and the sound of a crying baby. It lead me to a small house where a man was lying dead in the middle of the room, and that's when you appeared to take my miraculous. But worst of all, I keep seeing this pair of glowing orange eyes, and blue and orange feathers keep appearing too."

"Orange eyes and feathers?" Chat asked in confusion.

Ladybug nodded. "My kwami told me that these are all signature signs of the peacock miraculous. My kwami is convinced that I must have come across the holder of the peacock miraculous at some point in my life, but I thought I would have remembered something like that. But when she told me the power the peacock miraculous possessed, I'm convinced that this holder is evil and is out there somewhere. I think they're after me."

Chat gasped, "so whoever possesses the peacock miraculous...can invade dreams?"

"Not just that," Ladybug explained, "they can invade your entire mind and control you. The dreams are getting even more sinister because if I get an injury in my dream –" Ladybug pulled up her bangs to show off the bump on her head – "I wake up with the same injury."

Chat Noir froze at the sight of Ladybug's bump. It looked like he was internally panicking, and Ladybug sighed as she let her hair fall back down to cover her forehead once again.

"I know, it's pretty scary. I just…I don't know what to do. My kwami won't let me go speak to Master Fu over the fact that it might bring up something awful that happened to Master Fu years ago."

Chat Noir unfroze, though he still looked terrified. "Yeah, my kwami told me something about that too. He wouldn't go into much detail though."

"No, mine neither." Ladybug sighed. "So, I feel stuck essentially. There's something going on, something to do with the peacock miraculous holder, and there's nothing I can do."

"You think the peacock miraculous holder is out there and poses a threat?" Chat asked, looking around the city.

Ladybug shrugged. "Possibly. My kwami seems to think that the dreams are bad omens relating to me and you though."

"Huh?"

Ladybug looked away sadly. "She told me this story about a past ladybug she had. She and that particular Chat Noir were best friends but over time they grew to hate each other. That ladybug kept having dreams in which her and Chat Noir harmed or killed each other. One day, their miraculous were confiscated by the guardians, and that's when their fighting came to a head. Because Ladybug and Chat Noir were so unbalanced, they tore a hole in the fabric of the universe. They both got dragged in, suffering a fate worse than death. Because I'm experiencing a similar thing, my kwami is worried about what this means for us."

Chat Noir remained quiet.

Ladybug peaked at him out of the corner of her eyes to see him staring down in a state of complete shock. She knew it was a lot to take in, so she gave Chat time to process everything she had just said. All the while it was becoming harder and harder for Ladybug to hold back the terrified sobs that were trying to claw their way out of her chest.

She couldn't let them escape though. She was Ladybug. She had to remain strong and show no fear.

Ladybug was too busy trying to fight back her fear and tears that she hadn't noticed that Chat Noir had finally looked up.

"Ladybug?" he questioned, his voice full of concern again.

"I-I'm fine," Ladybug insisted, looking away and feeling ashamed over Chat Noir seeing her like this.

However, Ladybug jumped slightly when she felt a leather clad hand gently grip her cheek and turn her head back around to face Chat. He offered her a small smile, despite the fear that was clearly dancing around behind his eyes.

"Ladybug I could never hate you…and I certainly could never bring myself to harm you," he reassured her, his voice quiet and gentle like a lullaby.

It succeeded in calming Ladybug down slightly, and she subtly leaned into his touch, yearning for any form of comfort right now. Chat took that as a sign to scoot closer towards her, and he hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulder, watching Ladybug's body language carefully in case he overstepped her boundaries by mistake. However, Ladybug smiled gratefully and rested her head against his chest. She could hear Chat's heart pounding erratically in his chest, and Ladybug nearly asked if he was okay, but figured he was just scared by what she had told him.

"I know that," Ladybug sighed out, "and I could never hate or harm you either."

"Good to know," Chat chuckled, "because, and don't tell anyone I told you, but that whole nine lives thing is a myth."

Ladybug smirked and gave Chat a gentle and playful elbow in the ribs. He jokingly recoiled before chuckling again and embracing her tighter.

Despite how weird things had been with Chat Noir lately, Ladybug was extremely grateful for the comforting hug right now. She really needed one. Already, she could feel herself beginning to relax slightly, feeling relieved that Chat Noir was now in the know and didn't think she was crazy. That was a huge weight off her back.

"So, you haven't been having any of these dreams?" Ladybug asked.

"No," Chat said, "unless you count the one I had when we were both under the spell of Dreamscape."

"What happened?" Ladybug asked.

She guessed that explained part of why Chat Noir had been acting so strange afterwards. She knew he must've had a nightmare, but she wasn't aware that it was similar to what she had experienced.

Chat recoiled at the memories. "Pretty much just like the one that you had: you were trying to steal my miraculous."

"Strange, because I had almost the exact same dream while captured by Dreamscape," Ladybug mused, frowning deep in thought. "So, it was just the one?"

"Yes, just the one."

"Then what could this mean? If it's just me that seems to be having them?" Ladybug felt herself beginning to panic again.

"Hey, it's okay," Chat Noir gently reassured her as he began slowly stroking her hair. "We'll figure it out together. I would never hurt you, so I don't understand how it could be a bad omen. If it's the peacock miraculous, then we'll find them and defeat them."

"We can't even find and defeat Hawkmoth," Ladybug grumbled.

"We'll do that too. These things just take time."

Ladybug sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't be so negative, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It sounds like you've had a lot to deal with." Chat smiled. "Thank you for telling me. And hey, at least we'll have something to distract ourselves with next weekend."

"Huh?"

"The party, duh."

"Oh yeah… _that._ "

Chat Noir shifted to look down at her. "You mean you're not going?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Do we really need the distraction while we have all of this hanging over us? I'm not really one for fancy parties anyway, least of all when we're both possibly in danger. Chat, we need to focus right now, not attend some silly party."

"I thought it would do us both good though," Chat explained. "We need to give ourselves some rest so we can think about things properly and with a clear mind."

"I don't know, Chat."

"Oh please come, LB. It'll be so much fun," Chat Noir begged like small, excited child. "For me?"

Ladybug groaned. "Alright, fine."

She was finding it increasingly difficult to say no to Chat Noir after the way she had treated him lately. If a party would help cheer him up, then she would relent. She would just have to keep on her toes while they were there. If the peacock miraculous holder knew they would both be there, then maybe they would show up and expose themselves and prove Ladybug right. Tikki had said she was sure Hawkmoth possessed the peacock miraculous, but Ladybug wasn't too sure. She certainly wasn't going to leave it all to chance.

"Yes!" Chat Noir rejoiced and squeezed her tightly.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and hugged him awkwardly back, already wishing that the next weekend was over and done with. She loved parties, sure. Just not when they were hosted by any member of the Bourgeois family. No doubt Chloé would be hanging off the both of them all night. But if it made Chat happy and possibly help them solve this mystery, then Ladybug figured she was attending whether she wanted to or not.

The thought of doing things to make Chat Noir happy made Ladybug remember something.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Ladybug pulled away from Chat Noir and headed back towards the chimney she had stashed his present.

She could feel Chat's eyes watching her curiously as Ladybug reached down towards the small, golden paper wrapped present she had stashed away. With his present now in hand, Ladybug headed back over with a nervous smile on her face. Chat Noir eyed the present in her hand before looking back up at her with a confused expression on his face. Ladybug shyly handed it over, feeling her cheeks turn slightly pink.

"A little something for you," Ladybug explained. "It's not much, I just wanted to say thank you and sorry I guess. You've been a great partner to me and I've treated you so badly lately."

Ladybug forced herself to stop rambling as Chat Noir slowly extended his hand out to take the present from her. He stared at it like it was the most holy and sacred thing in the world, which caused Ladybug to raise an amused eyebrow. Chat Noir continued to stare at it before he began to slowly tear at the wrapping paper, revealing what was inside. He gasped as he caught sight of it, running his fingers across the scarf.

"I hope it's okay and it feels alright." Ladybug began feeling nervous. "I'm a little rusty when it comes to making scarfs."

"W-wait…you made this?" Chat gasped.

"Y-yeah."

Ladybug watched as Chat Noir froze as he continued to stare at the scarf. He stopped running his fingers over the green wool, and so many expressions zoomed across his face that Ladybug had a difficult time catching them all: horror, confusion, fear and more confusion. The sight made Ladybug even more nervous.

"You don't like it," Ladybug concluded worriedly. "I'm sorry, I should have made sure I knew your tastes before making you something."

"N-no!" Chat quickly stopped her panicked rambling. "I-it's beautiful, I really love it."

"Really?"

"Yes!" Chat Noir beamed at her, though there was still in underlying fear and confusion that remained present in his eyes.

Ladybug wasn't sure why though. Had their conversation about everything finally sunk in and he was worried about what was going to happen too? Surely if that was the case, he would tell her, right? Or was he trying to be strong for her sake after witnessing her nearly break down over the whole thing. That thought pained Ladybug. She didn't want him to feel that he had to do that.

Looking around, Ladybug realised how dark it had now gotten, and the thought of the pile of homework on her desk soon taunted her. She had told Chat everything that he needed to know. Now they both just needed to be careful and watch out. With pretty much everything out in the open, and knowing she had Chat Noir on side, Ladybug felt much better. Not completely better, but just enough that it felt like a huge weight had been lifted and she could at least breathe properly again.

"Thanks for being there for me today, Chat." Ladybug offered him a small smile as he continued to stare down at the scarf. "I should probably get going now; it's getting late."

Chat didn't respond, causing Ladybug to frown.

"Chat?"

Still no response.

"Chat!" Ladybug snapped her fingers, and Chat Noir jumped, looking back up at her with a sheepish smile that looked forced.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm great." He gulped. "Just amazed at this gift."

"Right." Ladybug replied, not convinced.

She wished she could stay longer and quiz Chat, but she was in enough trouble at school for not completing her homework. She couldn't risk getting a possible detention when an akuma could attack at any moment. Making an excuse to sneak out of class was much easier than trying to sneak out of detention where the teachers watched you like a hawk. She could just ask Chat what his weird behaviour was all about the next time she saw him.

"As long as you're sure," Ladybug added, taking a few steps towards the edge of the roof, regarding Chat Noir suspiciously.

"I'm fine, trust me," he replied, once again his smile looked fake. "I guess I'll see you soon then."

"Yeah." Ladybug did her best to smile, despite Chat's odd behaviour. "Bug out."

Swinging her yo-yo, Ladybug glided between the buildings of the city of Paris, the night air now even colder against her exposed skin. She put Chat's weird behaviour to the back of her mind and focused on getting home and maybe talking to Tikki about that fact that Chat Noir hadn't been having these dreams.

Surely that must mean it wasn't a bad omen then? If it was, then Ladybug would have thought that Chat Noir would be having those dreams too. Instead, he had claimed to have just had the one. What did that mean?

So many unanswered questioned were buzzing around in her head that she ignored the fact that her instincts were suddenly on high alert.

Ladybug gracefully landed back on her balcony, her yo-yo loyally flying back towards her before she hooked it back around her waist where it belonged. It felt good to be home and feel more relaxed now that her talk with Chat Noir was over with. Sure, she was still terrified over the whole thing, but she felt better knowing that her trusted partner was going to be right by her side through the whole ordeal now. Together, just like he had said, they would figure this out.

With a relieved smile on her face, Ladybug uttered the words to release her transformation.

"Spots off," she said, and within a second she was Marinette again.

The cold air instantly hit her, and Marinette began shivering as Tikki reappeared and hovered in front of her.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it?" Tikki smiled, and Marinette shook her head.

"No, but, Chat Noir said he had only had the one dream. What does this mean, Tikki? Does this still mean that this is all a bad omen?" Marinette asked.

Tikki sighed. "I don't know, Marinette. Last time, the previous Chat Noir also had bad nightmares just like the previous Ladybug. For the current Chat Noir to have just the one, I don't know what that entails."

Marinette shivered more violently, both from fear and from the cold breeze suddenly picking up around her.

"Let's get you inside," Tikki said, and Marinette nodded, opening up the trap door that led down into her bedroom before she dropped down into it, quickly closing the door behind her.

Unbeknownst to Marinette, a figure had been watching her from behind the chimney of the building opposite her apartment.

Stepping out from his hiding spot, his expression filled with fear and horror, Chat Noir gazed down at the small bakery below him. The home of Marinette…the home of his lady.

* * *

 **Oh dear. What do you guys think of that? Sorry again if this chapter was a little on the slow side, I hate writing filler, but it's all necessary. Naturally a lot of known information had to be repeated for Chat Noir's sake. Anyway, let me know what you guys think. Not too sure when my next update will be, but hopefully the gap won't be as long as this time. Thanks for reading, see you soon.**


	21. My Lady, My Princess

' **Sup? Yeah, I really think my updating will be all over the place for the foreseeable future. I'll always try and update for at least once a week, so you don't have to worry about large gaps between updating. It's just the popularity of my other story exploded waaaay more than I was expecting so I wanna make sure I update that story too, and I'm in my final weeks of university now so yeeaahhh…that's terrifying. Gotta get myself a job, finish my last assignment and sort graduation stuff out…help…me…**

 **Mental breakdowns aside, once again I can't thank you enough for supporting this story. Whether through reviewing, favouriting, following or simply just reading every chapter. It's what makes me keep writing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: My Lady; My Princess**

No.

No.

 _No._

 _No._

 _No no no no no no no._

He… He had been right. He had been right all along!

Marinette… Marinette Dupain-Cheng… the sweet clumsy girl who sat behind him in class… his princess was… _his lady!_

Despite his suspicions these past few weeks, the confirmation could still not have come as more of a shock. Adrien didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to feel. All he could do was continually pace his room, practically burning holes in his floor as he did so. He had been at this for hours now. It was nearly midnight, and he should be getting some sleep, but, how could he? How could he even attempt to sleep now that he knew the truth?

 _The truth…_

He didn't know how to handle it. Over and over again he replayed the memory, as if his mind was a damaged record player, of the moment he saw his lady transform into Marinette.

The bump on her head… the scarf… All of it had just sent his suspicions on high alert again.

It was the exact same bump he had seen on Marinette's head in the library that day. The scarf Ladybug had made him was made out of the exact same wool that Marinette had shown him when they had bumped into each other whilst she was shopping. All of those coincidences were eating away at him. His mind had never been such a swirling mess. Everything was just too uncanny, and it was eating away at him.

Without thinking, he had just begun following her. It was like his body was on autopilot. Half of his mind had been screaming him, demanding to know what he was doing. It was an invasion of Ladybug's privacy, and disrespected the rules that Ladybug had carefully put in place for both of their safety. Yet, on the other hand, his mind had to know.

In that moment, it was like he had been trying, and failing, to resist the urge to open Pandora's Box. Now the box was open, leaving nothing but chaos. His heart had almost stopped in his chest when he saw Ladybug land on Marinette's balcony. It felt so wrong watching her like that, but if he was already onto her secret, was simply confirming his suspicions such a terrible thing?

In a burst of pink light, Marinette then stood where Ladybug had been, and he could just about make out a little red kwami flying around her.

Adrien tightly gripped the scarf he still carried in his hands at the memory. Everything felt so surreal that Adrien was beginning to wonder if he was dreaming. He was so stupid! His true love had been so close to him all along, and it had taken him so long to notice! All this time, his lady was sat behind him in class, hanging out with him, shared his friends, Alya and… _Oh no!_ He had tried to set up the love of his life with his best friend that one time!

Adrien nearly tore his hair out at that thought. An unpleasant sensation bubbled in his chest at the memory of Marinette and Nino together at the zoo, him coaching Nino on how to ask her out… How could he have been so stupid?! Marinette was _his_ , and he had just nearly palmed her off onto his best friend!

Wait…

 _Marinette was… his…?_

Man, he really needed to try and calm down.

He wasn't even sure how he felt about Marinette. She was so different from his lady and totally not the person he expected Ladybug to be under her mask. Ladybug was so confident, so graceful and fluid in her movements, while Marinette… Shy, quiet and sweet Marinette, could barely string a sentence together most of the time, and always somehow managed to trip over, even though there would be nothing there.

But yet, at the same time, they were also so similar. Aside from similar appearances, they were both stubborn, sweet and kind with a fierce determination to do the right thing and fight for what they believed in.

How could he not have spotted this sooner? How could he have been so stupid?!

"Plagg…?" Adrien found himself calling out as he froze on the spot, his eyes wide and unblinking while his hands were glued into his hair, gripping the golden strands tightly like a lifeline.

His kwami was no help though. Why did Adrien even expect otherwise?

Instead of replying, Plagg merely burst out into loud roars of laughter which only succeeded in making Adrien feel even worse.

"You – should –" Plagg managed to gasp out between bouts of uncontrollable laughter, "See – your – face!"

Before Adrien had time to react, his phone hovered in front of his face before the blinding flash of the camera on his phone caused him to flinch back slightly. Plagg continued to giggle from behind Adrien's phone, struggling to keep a grip on it before he turned around and attempted to show Adrien the photo. Adrien looked away though, embarrassed and annoyed. He was glad his kwami at least found this whole thing amusing.

"I just had to snap a picture." Plagg's laughter had calmed down some, but giggles still escaped his mouth every time he gazed at Adrien or the phone he was still holding. "This moment is just too _priceless._ "

"I'm glad you think this is funny." Adrien grumbled before speaking up and snatching his phone off the chuckling black kwami. "And give me my phone back! How did you even get into it anyway?"

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Oh please, your password is more than obvious."

Adrien's cheeks turned pink, refusing to comment on that, while making a mental note that he needed to change it, lest his mischievous annoying kwami get his filthy paws on it again.

"I've just come across the biggest discovery of my life and all you can do is laugh and make jokes?!" Adrien frowned at his companion.

" _Come across?_ " Plagg repeated, astonished. "You followed her!"

"I had to!" Adrien explained, growing more and more frantic. "It only confirmed what I practically already knew."

" _Ladybug's going to kill you,_ " Plagg sang before laughing. "Or should I say – _Marinette._ "

Adrien gulped.

Plagg was right.

"The love of your life was so close to you the entire time and you never even noticed," Plagg continued to tease.

"Yes, thank you, Plagg, I'm perfectly aware," Adrien muttered in frustration before he began pacing again.

 _Okay, Adrien, stay calm_ , he chanted to himself. Ladybug had been sitting behind him at school this whole time; it was no big deal. Oh, who was he kidding? This was a massive, huge, humongous deal! How long had he been waiting for this day? To find out who his lady really was behind her mask? To get to know the real her? He just didn't realise that he technically _did_ know the real her.

"I can't believe it," Adrien whispered, "cute, sweet and amazing Marinette is… _Ladybug_."

"I think someone's in _loooovvveee._ " Plagg began making kissing noises.

"Am not!" Adrien quickly retorted before he froze.

The times he had spent spying on her both as Adrien and Chat Noir, getting to know her and tutoring her, he had found himself growing relatively attached to her. He had always viewed her as a great friend, one of the first friends he had made when he first started school. But lately, he was starting to see her for the lovely, kind-hearted girl she really was. He found himself drawn to her for reasons he was unable to explain… Until now.

He had been worried that this weird attraction towards her was just because he suspected she was Ladybug. So he did his best to back off a little bit, feeling guilty and unsure. But now, looking back, the thought of Marinette sent his heart racing, and his mind became utterly and completely consumed by her. It had startled him when he'd had that dream of him referring to Ladybug as Marinette while under the spell of Dreamscape.

He really liked Marinette… a lot. And he loved Ladybug. Adrien was beginning to feel… lucky. He was extremely lucky; he could have his cake _and e_ at it. Marinette was so beautiful and sweet, kind, loving, talented…

"I'm in love with Marinette," Adrien whispered, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips. " _I'm in love with Marinette!"_

"Hallelujah! He realises at last." Plagg rolled his eyes before he began nibbling on a block of cheese.

However, Adrien barely registered what Plagg had said. Instead, he couldn't get the thought of Marinette out of his head. His lady; his princess. They were one in the same, and oh, how he loved her for it.

His heart skipped a beat in his chest before picking back up, this time beating more rapidly, swelling up in his chest until it felt like it was about to burst. Butterflies fluttered around his stomach, sending a pleasurable tingle up his back and causing him to shudder slightly. He felt like he was floating amongst the clouds, weightless and so happy, he felt like he might continue floating up into space. Marinette's beautiful face appeared before him, smiling at him, laughing with him as they floated through the clouds together.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Plagg's question sent Adrien crashing back down to reality with a painful bump.

"Oh, I…" Adrien rubbed the back of his head. "I… don't know?"

Plagg facepalmed.

"I'll think of something though," Adrien quickly reassured his kwami, though internally, he was panicking like mad.

What _was_ he going to do now?

Just because he had found out the truth, it didn't mean he was out of the woods yet. It didn't mean that he and Marinette were now going to run into the sunset together, holding hands and gazing lovingly into each other's eyes – as much as Adrien wanted that to happen. This was going to take some careful planning and consideration. He knew that she was Ladybug. But he also knew that she didn't know that he knew.

At those confusing and panicked thoughts, Adrien found himself collapsing onto his bed, subconsciously reaching out to grip the beautiful green scarf she had made from him. He brought it to his nose and sniffed. It smelt just like her: sweet like strawberries but also the faint scent of freshly baked bread. It sent a shiver throughout his entire body. She smelled so delectable.

Adrien had to shake his head in order to force himself to focus again. Should he tell Marinette that he knew? How would he do that? Should he expose his own identity too? Ugh, Plagg was right. Marinette was going to kill him. Especially if he just straight up told her the truth. _Hey Marinette, I was beginning to suspect you were Ladybug, so I followed you and watched you transform, and oh yeah, I'm Chat Noir by the way._ Adrien scowled; that definitely wouldn't go down well. He would be a dead kitty if he did that.

So what was the best way forward? Act natural and pretend nothing happened? He knew he couldn't do that either. Adrien groaned as he struggled to focus on forming a plan. All he wanted to do right now was head over to Marinette's place and kiss her senseless.

That's when a horrible thought came crashing down in Adrien, burying him and pinning him to his bed like a heavy pile of rubble. The weight of the reality of this thought felt like it would crush him to death. He was pretty sure Marinette didn't even like him that much.

No romantic runs into the sunset then.

That thought made Adrien whimper and curl up into a tight ball. What else would explain why Marinette could never talk to him properly? Had she never forgiven him for the chewing gum incident? Had she not believed him when he explained he was only trying to remove it and that it wasn't him that had placed it there?

Adrien gasped and clutched his chest as another horrifying thought hit him. Marinette liked someone else. Someone that was not him. That unpleasant feeling bubbled in Adrien's chest again at the thought of Marinette having eyes for someone else. The rage he felt scared him slightly, and that's when he tried to force himself to calm down. He needed to know who this person was. What if he was horrible and wouldn't treat Marinette with all of the respect and love that she deserved? He _had_ to know.

Without pausing to think about things properly, Adrien grabbed his phone and immediately brought up his list of contacts. After finding who he wanted to talk to, Adrien pressed the phone to his ear, gripping it tightly to a point where it felt like the phone would break under the pressure of his hand, which was also beginning to tremble slightly as he waited for him to answer. It took a while, but he finally did so.

"Hello?" Nino's groggy voice croaked from the other side of the line.

"Nino! It's Adrien!" Adrien gasped out.

"Yeah, I know," Nino grumbled. "It's nearly one o'clock in the morning, why are you calling?"

"Marinette likes someone and I –" Adrien paused as he realised how crazy he was sounding. He cleared his throat and began trying to talk more casually. "And, y'know, I was just wondering who it was? Since you're going out with her best friend, I figured you would have all the gossip."

Nino was quiet for a few minutes.

"You called me at this time…to ask me _that?_ Dude…"

"I just…" Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need to know."

Again, Nino remained quiet for a few minutes.

"Look, dude, I don't know what you're talking about."

This made Adrien frown. Nino was a _really_ bad liar. He always had been. What was the big deal with Marinette's crush that his own best friend felt the need to hide it from him? Adrien knew that Nino knew. So, why was he hiding it? Were Adrien's worst fears about to be confirmed? Was it someone horrible?

"Don't lie to me, Nino," Adrien demanded, growing even more frustrated and panicky.

"I'm not lying, bro!"

"Yes you are!"

Nino paused for a moment again. "Wait, why do you want to know anyway?" His voice was heavy with suspicion.

Adrien could feel his face turning bright red despite no one being present. Words got caught in his throat as Nino waited patiently for his answer, not saying a word. Oh great, he'd landed himself in it now. How was he going to explain himself out of this one? He had just called Nino without thinking, panicking over who Marinette had a crush on. Now he was deeply regretting it. His embarrassment wasn't helped by the sound of Plagg sniggering from his little corner in Adrien's room. Adrien shot his kwami a glare before he went back to desperately coming up with an excuse.

"I-I-I just…" Adrien stuttered like a moron. "I was just curious…in case this person is – errr – being horrible to Marinette. She seems to be on edge a lot lately."

"Yeah, you like her, don't you?" Nino replied without missing a beat. At this new information, Nino instantly sounded more awake and alert.

"What? No!" Adrien tried to protest, his face growing hotter and hotter.

"Uh-huh." Nino chuckled. "So when did this happen? I thought you were never gonna realise your feelings, dude."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Adrien continued to stubbornly lie.

"Oh come on, we all see the way you look at her."

"You do?" Adrien nearly began choking.

"Yeah, it's obvious, man."

Adrien gulped before looking down in sadness and shame. "Okay, so maybe I do have a slight crush on her. But I heard that she likes someone and I'm worried that I'm going to come in between something. If Marinette wants to be with someone else… I don't wanna come in between that."

Nino sighed and chuckled lightly before replying, "I wouldn't worry about that, dude."

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"Just go for it, Adrien."

"But she likes someone!"

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

"You are making no sense!" Adrien gasped out in frustration. "Who is it that Marinette likes?"

Nino groaned. "It's not my secret to tell. But seriously, _don't worry about it._ Just talk to Marinette, ask her out and you'll see."

Adrien let out a small cry of annoyance. "I think your mind is still clouded with sleep."

Nino chuckled. "Maybe. You admitting your feelings for Mari; it does feel like a dream."

Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Look, just don't worry about it. Talk to Marinette tomorrow. Ask her out. I'll see you tomorrow." Nino explained before he hung up.

Adrien pulled his phone away from his ear and stared down at it in a state of confusion and annoyance.

"Thanks for nothing!" he shouted down at it before tossing his phone onto his bed. All the while Plagg could not stop cackling at him.

"I'm glad you think it's funny." Adrien pouted, burying his head under his pillow.

"I don't think it's funny," Plagg joked, "I think it's _hilarious_."

Adrien groaned.

"Out of all the black cat miraculous holders I've had, you're definitely the funniest by far."

"Gee, thanks," Adrien mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow he had clutched tightly over his head.

Plagg chuckled again, but otherwise remained silent, happily eating his camembert.

Adrien pulled his pillow tighter over his head, pressing his face into his sheets, suffocating himself. What did Nino mean by everything he had said? His best friend seemed to think it was a good idea to just straight up ask Marinette out. But why? If Marinette had a crush on someone, how could that result in success for Adrien? Was all of this one big elaborate prank on Nino's part? To get his hopes up and ask Marinette out, only to get rejected?

No. Nino wouldn't do that, and Adrien felt guilty for even slightly entertaining the idea in the first place.

He couldn't just straight up ask Marinette out. It would be too out of the blue, too weird, and he would likely get rejected because of this crush that she had on someone else. Plus, there was the issue as to whether or not she even liked him in the first place. He needed to get to know her better and allow her to get to know him. Then maybe, Adrien hoped, this crush she had on someone else would fade and she would fall in love with him just as much as he loved her. He needed her to get to know both sides of him, both as Chat Noir, and as Adrien, so when the time came for him to tell her the truth, she would be more accepting of the idea. Maybe he could drop hints as Chat, and she could figure it out for herself like he had done. That way, no one had to get hurt.

This plan was starting to sound more and more tempting to Adrien. It seemed almost fool proof. He would tell her the truth…one day. But until then, they could get to know each other better, both in and out of the costume, and accept both sides of each other. Then it would come as less of a surprise and shock to Marinette when everything was revealed, and maybe, just maybe, she'd spare his life.

Then they could be together forever.

Adrien smiled as his plan came together in his mind. This was the best way forward for everyone involved. Now that he knew who Ladybug was, he could keep an eye on her and protect her better, especially with all of this strange stuff that seemed to be happening to her lately. He should start visiting her during the night again, just to make sure that no one was around and invading her dreams.

Those thoughts caused Adrien to frown and pull himself out from under his pillow. Someone was out there, and they were after his lady. The weight of the conversation he had with Ladybug earlier finally began to properly sink in. He wanted to smack himself. He had been so distracted with his discovery of Ladybug's true identity that he had put her wellbeing aside. That very thought was like stab to the stomach. Okay, it was definitely a good thing he knew her true identity. He could keep an eye on her during the day as Adrien and keep an eye on her at night as Chat Noir.

With a gasp at the thought of Marinette being all alone right now, unprotected and vulnerable, Adrien bolted upright and began heading towards his window, his hand twitching, ready to summon Plagg to transform him.

"I know what you're thinking and no," Plagg warned from the other side of his room.

"What?"

"You're thinking of going to see Marinette, aren't you?" Plagg glared at him, starting to morph into his very rare serious mood.

"I need to make sure she's okay… The peacock miraculous…" Adrien's desperate begging was cut off by his kwami.

"Marinette will be fine without you for tonight," Plagg explained. "She has her own kwami to keep an eye on her, remember? Tikki is more than capable of looking after her. Besides… I don't think it's the peacock miraculous that's doing this…"

"Well, what else can it be?" Adrien demanded.

Plagg sighed, "I know what Ladybug described sounds like the act of the peacock miraculous holder, but there's one important detail which disproves that theory."

"And what's that?"

"The fact that Marinette is waking up with injuries she's receiving in her _dreams_." Plagg looked deep in thought. "Kid, I don't think Marinette is really dreaming at all."

Adrien frowned in confusion and horror. "What do you mean?"

"Of course Marinette is laying there asleep, but what she's experiencing can't be dreams. Sure, like Ladybug said her kwami suggested to her, it could be a bad omen, as any hint of imbalance between Chat Noir and Ladybug is a bad sign, but if that was truly the case, then you'd be having those dreams too," Plagg explained. "The only time you did was when you were under the spell of Dreamscape, which is what makes me wonder… perhaps you and Ladybug shared a consciousness during that experience."

"So… our minds merged or something?"

"In a way. The chosen Ladybug and Chat Noir are always interlinked spiritually. Dreamscape's magic must have seen this and seen your similar desires and that's what made you share the same dream. I think the fact that you were harming each other is an incredibly bad omen just like last time, only I think there's a lot more to this one." Plagg looked incredibly worried, which made Adrien panic even more. Plagg never ever showed his more serious and worried side. He was always so carefree. So this must be something serious if it had even _Plagg_ on edge.

"But I wouldn't – no – _couldn't_ ever harm Ladybug!" Adrien spoke those words as if they were the most vile, putrid taste that he had ever had in his mouth.

"You say that now," Plagg mumbled low enough that Adrien didn't hear.

"And what to do you mean by there being more to it than last time?" Adrien asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"I think someone is communicating these omens to Marinette," Plagg stated, frowning in concentration.

"Like, telepathically?"

"Perhaps," Plagg replied. "That's why Marinette maintains injuries. It's because she's experiencing something that's very real. Someone, somewhere, is reaching out to her and putting her on an existing plain to show her these visions. It happened to her during your battle with Dreamscape, and you got caught up in it. That's the best way I can try and describe it."

Adrien frowned. "I think I get it."

"If it was the peacock miraculous, Marinette wouldn't be receiving these injuries. The peacock miraculous, although they could convince you that you have an injury, it would all be in your mind. No one else would be able to see it." Plagg slowly took a bite out of his camembert and began staring into space while Adrien stood in the middle of his room, frozen in shock.

"I never knew you could be so clever and serious," Adrien whispered, looking at his kwami in a whole new light.

"I have my moments." Plagg shrugged before taking a huge bite of cheese, chewing loudly. "But I could be wrong," he continued, his voice muffled by his mouthful of camembert, "so run it by Ladybug. Her kwami should be able to hear and then maybe she can better help Ladybug."

Adrien nodded once. "I will."

Anything that might help Marinette, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Starting to feel sleepy, Adrien headed back over to his bed, though despite his tired state, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. Too many thoughts and fears were whirling around in his head, pounding against the inside of his skull, begging for attention. Each one battled to be at the forefront of his mind to the point where it was making Adrien dizzy.

Hoping to calm himself down, Adrien brought the green scarf up to his nose again and sniffed, breathing in Marinette's scent, and he instantly felt his nerves beginning to relax. He'd see her again tomorrow. He could make sure she was okay and set his plan into motion.

Relaxing even more, Adrien ran his fingers over the soft wool before he frowned when he noticed that there was something about this scarf that seemed familiar. That's when Adrien pulled the scarf away from his face to get a better look at it. That design… It was so similar to…

Leaping out of bed, Adrien darted over to his closet and opened it before rifling through his clothes until he found what he was looking for. The blue scarf was tied loosely around a hanger towards the back of his closet, and Adrien instantly grabbed it, pulling it out and holding it next to the green one Ladybug had given him. They were almost identical in design and style.

Adrien knew that Marinette was a fan of his father, but not to the extent in which she could almost perfectly replicate one of his designs. Letting the blue scarf hang more loosely in his hand, a new colour on the back suddenly caught his attention; a detail he'd never noticed before. Flipping the scarf over, he noticed a small signature stitched onto the bottom of the scarf.

 _Marinette._

Marinette?

Marinette!

Marinette always signed her work… So did that mean…? Marinette had designed his blue scarf?

But Nathalie said that… What? How?

Adrien's mind went back to the day of his fourteenth birthday. He didn't remember seeing Marinette much that day apart from…at the front of school when she had tried to talk to him. Of course! She had a present in her hand that moment; Adrien had never truly realised until now. This was supposed to have been a gift from Marinette! And yet, right to her face, he said it had been from his father. Why didn't she correct him?

With a small smile, Adrien clutched both scarves to his chest before wrapping them both around his neck. Plagg shot him a strange look, which Adrien ignored. With a dreamy sigh, Adrien walked back over to his bed and climbed in.

If Marinette had made this especially for him for his birthday then surely that meant she must like him at least a little. Maybe she didn't really hate him that much after all. Did this mean he was in with a chance? The thought gave him some hope at least.

Burying his nose in the scarves, not caring about how hot he was beginning to feel in them, Adrien slowly drifted to sleep, a peaceful and hopeful smile on his face as he did so.

* * *

 **A more Adrien focused chapter for you guys. Think I'll give a shout out in the next chapter to anyone who manages to correctly guess what Adrien's password was, lol. Feel free to let me know what you think in a review as it's always more than helpful and inspires me to keep going. See you soon! Hope you all have a lovely week.**


	22. Dreams Come True

**Yo, I hope you guys have been having a lovely week. Wowzers, the response I got for the last chapter was awesome! I can't thank you guys enough for all of the amazing reviews. You're all so lovely and kind and I could hug every one of you…if I could stretch myself to every corner of the world that is.**

 **Also, congratulations to Chibi Horsewoman! You guessed the password correctly! Hahaha. Adrien's password was: bugaboo. Well done to everyone else who told me their guess, you were all on the right track and it was so much fun reading what you all thought it was.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Dreams Come True**

Gabriel Agreste finally moved his ear away from Adrien's bedroom door as soon as he heard the soft snores of his son. With a smirk on his face and his hands clasped behind his back, he made his way back into his office where his assistant Nathalie was standing still, waiting for him. Gabriel barely acknowledged her presence as he sat down at his desk, this time clasping his hands in front of him, staring forward, his expression cold with a hint of manic excitement. His grey eyes sparkled behind his glasses and it began to look like he was finding it difficult to contain his laughter. Nathalie found it hard not to notice the strange mood her boss was in.

"Sir?" She was unable to resist inquiring.

"So," Gabriel began, his smirk widening, "Ladybug's real name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Cheng?" Nathalie repeated. "I've heard that name before…"

Gabriel closed his eyes, frowning. "I've been a fool. I should have connected the dots years ago. I should have picked up on her surname during that hat competition. Not to mention I should have known it would be someone already close to my son."

"I don't understand, sir."

"They must have kept that part of her surname in the hopes of tricking _her_." Gabriel mused, ignoring his confused assistant standing in front of him. He then abruptly stood up and began furiously pacing his office. "I should have made more of an effort to understand the magic of the miraculous. Of course someone close to Adrien would have been Ladybug in order to ensure they were together most of the time for the sake of balance. I should have immediately known when I saw them together the other day. I had my suspicious, yet I didn't act on them. I can't afford to do that again. Not if I want my plan to come to fruition."

"So the who won that hat competition you set…is…the girl that Mrs. Agreste…?"

"Yes." Gabriel rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. "Emilie was so set on keeping the girl safe. She should have killed her right there and then when she was a baby, but she didn't. Emilie…" He turned to stare at her portrait. "She wanted her to have a normal life – to give her a chance. She always tried to see the good in everyone…even if it wasn't there." He then turned to stare at himself in the mirror.

"So the prophecy is coming true." Nathalie gasped.

Gabriel frowned menacingly. "If _Nina_ has anything to say about it, yes, yes it will. Only Emilie can stop her."

"If Marinette is Ladybug, what does this mean for Adrien?"

Gabriel's frown deepened. "He seems to be… _infatuated_ with her."

"I hear that's pretty normal for Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"It is of no importance." Gabriel stated, moving to sit back down at his desk. "My son can be infatuated with her all he wants for the time being, but soon he will see Ladybug for what she really is and then…he will personally help me defeat her and take her miraculous."

Nathalie gasped. "But sir, would Adrien ever do such a thing?"

Gabriel smirked. "Yes, he will. I already have a plan in motion. Sooner rather than later, Nina will make her move and all I have to do is sit and wait for her to fall right into my trap. I will make her suffer the way she has made me suffer. My dream will come true. I made a promise to Emilie that I will avenge her, that I will bring her back. My family will be reunited again," Gabriel's smirk widened sinisterly, "And to make that happen, I have the perfect sacrifice in mind."

.

Despite walking as lightly and quietly as possible, Marinette's footsteps still echoed around the deserted, long and seemingly endless corridor. The tiled floor beneath her was a pristine white and the corridor contained minimal furniture that was modern, simple, but also clearly very expensive. It all felt strangely familiar with its black and white colour scheme. Marinette felt like she had seen this style before. Had she been in this house before?

Growing even more uneasy, Marinette kept walking. The lights above her would occasionally flicker and each time they did so, Marinette's heart quickened and her breathing would hitch. Every few steps, the corridor would seem to repeat itself. The same furniture, the same plants. Each door that she passed was closed and every so often, Marinette would try to enter one, hoping to end the monotony of the endless corridor, but none of them would budge. Everything was quiet apart from the echo of every movement and sound that Marinette made. Marinette stood still, hoping to hear any possible sound besides herself. Her ears were met with nothing. So much so, that her ears began to ring with how deathly quiet it was.

Marinette frowned at how creepy and weird the situation was. Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down, she kept walking, quickening her pace, hoping to reach some sort of end. However, the corridor just kept going and going. All the while, Marinette's eyes darted around, growing frustrated with how familiar this place felt, yet she wasn't quite able to place it. She passed the same plant pot for the tenth time, her eyes narrowing at the small, white butterfly-like symbols engraved onto the black pottery. This house really was starting to feel familiar. Marinette was now pretty certain that she had in fact been here before. She quickened her pace again until she was jogging down the corridor, but still nothing changed. It now felt like she had been running for an eternity.

Starting to panic even more, Marinette looked down and opened her purse, hoping that her kwami would be there to hopefully explain this situation or help her out of it. Her purse was empty. This sight caused Marinette to gasp and stop in her tracks. She looked around the endless corridor, however, her little red kwami was no where to be seen. Marinette could feel her heart in her mouth. Tikki never just wondered off like this. She was always by Marinette's side; this wasn't like her. Had Tikki gotten lost somewhere? Had she fallen out of Marinette's purse and become injured? Surely Tikki would have called out to her if that had happened. Marinette had to find her!

"Tikki!" Marinette called out, her voice bouncing off the narrow walls and echoing down the eternal hall. The lights flickered again and Marinette shrunk back slightly, hunching her shoulders as if bracing for impact. Worried tears welled up in her blue eyes and despite the lights going back to normal as quickly as they flickered, Marinette could not bring herself to calm down. All she could hear was the buzz of electricity, her heartbeat in her ears and her own laboured breathing. Not a single or even faint sound of her kwami calling out to her.

That's when Marinette decided that it might be better to head backwards and re-trace her steps. The most likely theory was that Tikki had somehow fallen out of her purse and was lost, alone and injured somewhere far behind, unable to have called out to her holder. Marinette gulped back the fearful and worried lump that had formed in her throat and pressed on back the way she had come. However, Marinette had barely made three steps when she was forced to freeze again. She squinted her eyes, finally managing to make out that in the distance, the lights were abruptly turned off, the darkness making its way towards her direction. Marinette's eyes widened again, though she still remained frozen in place, unable to bring herself to move, only able to stare straight ahead, terror gripping every inch of her body.

In the approaching darkness, Marinette could just about make out a tall dark figure. It appeared human in shape and was completely black. No features were visible as it continued to move towards her. It ran at her, limping slightly as it did so. Its arms flailed around erratically, and rays of darkness seeped out from it like sinister tentacles from the depths of the ocean, ready to grab her and consume her. The sight of the creature running towards her finally snapped Marinette out of her frozen state. Letting out a loud scream, Marinette began sprinting down the corridor in the initial direction she had been heading. Her feet pounded painfully against the hard, tiled floor, her flat shoes providing little protection for her feet as she ran. Marinette dared not look back, terrified that if she did, the creature would be mere inches behind her. Despite running like it had suffered an injury, it was still heading towards her pretty fast, quickly followed by the ominous darkness.

Panting and wheezing as she continued to run, the corridor still felt like it was never going to end. Was this it now? Was Marinette destined to be chased by this creature for eternity? Had this creature got a hold of Tikki and now it was after her as well? Marinette didn't have time to ponder the answers to these questions. She forced her protesting and tired body to keep running. The further she ran, the slower it felt like she was going. It felt like she was running underwater. No matter how much she willed her body forward, she just didn't seem to be making much progress. Still, she did not dare to look back. The furniture around her began to float, as if the room had filled with invisible water. Marinette struggled to make her feet touch the ground in order to push herself forward. Every step was a vigorous fight. Marinette refused to give up though. She wasn't going to let this creature get a hold of her.

That's when Marinette spotted it. Her stomach did a relieved flip as she spotted the unmistakable sight of grand looking double doors ahead of her. The end of this seemingly endless corridor was in sight. Fighting against the underwater sensation, Marinette pushed herself forward one final time, reaching out to grip the golden door handles of the doors and used that to pull herself towards it faster than she could have ever run. Hoping that the door wasn't locked, Marinette pushed down in the handle and sighed with relief when she felt it open. Without hesitating, she swung the door open and ran inside before finally glancing behind her. Marinette screamed at the sight of the creature still chasing after her; it had been gaining on her. The shadow creature reached out its arms towards her as if it was trying to make a grab for her. Glaring at the creature, Marinette slammed the door just before the creature reached her and gripped both door handles tightly in case it tried to get in. Much to her surprise, the creature merely calmly knocked on the door three times, sending a chill down Marinette's spin. Then there was nothing but silence again.

After waiting a few agonising minutes that felt more like hours, Marinette slowly and carefully released her grip of the door, keeping her hands out, ready to grab it again should the creature attempt to enter. Nothing happened. Marinette kept waiting just in case, but still nothing happened so she began to relax more. Finally, she turned around to see where she was now. The room was dark, the only light came from the large round window several feet off the ground with a butterfly pattern designed into the glass. Small rays of light shone through on what seemed to be an overcast day. White butterflies, that looked like purified akumas fluttered innocently around Marinette and she watched them with wide eyes.

Marinette took a step forward to explore the room some more when she was halted by the sound of a small splash beneath her foot. Confused, Marinette looked down and shrieked before clasping a hand over her mouth, feeling bile rise in her throat. The floor of the room was almost covered in a thick layer of blood. It stained her surroundings, forming a red lake around her. The butterflies continued to flutter about before Marinette noticed that they all seemed to be gravitating to one particular far corner of the room. Marinette squinted, hoping to see what they were so attracted to. In the middle of the giant pool of blood, it was difficult to spot but…it looked like something small and red was poking out on the surface. Oh no…please no…

Struggling to contain her panicked sobs, Marinette sprinted forward, not caring that she was splashing blood all over herself. Marinette fell to her knees as her worst fears were confirmed. Lying face down on the ground, her little body limp, was her beloved kwami, Tikki. Marinette quickly scooped up her red companion and gently turned her over. Her eyes were closed and Marinette sighed with relief when they began to weakly flutter open.

"M-Marinette?" Tikki choked out.

"Tikki!" Marinette gasped. "I'm here. What happened?"

"I-it's n-not sa-safe for you," Tikki shivered, "Y-you need to e-escape before she ca-catches you."

"Before who catches me?" Marinette cradled her kwami closer to her, stroking her delicately with her fingers as if she was made of the thinnest glass.

"J-just g-go." Tikki pleaded. "I-I've held her off f-for as long as I c-could."

"I'm not going anywhere without you!" Marinette cried.

"You h-have to live," Tikki continued to beg, "Y-you have to s-stop her. R-remember…you are L-Ladybug…with or w-without the…m-mask."

"Stop who?!"

Tikki's eyes fluttered closed.

"Tikki?"

The red kwami of creation became limp in her hands.

"Tikki!" Marinette screamed, poking her kwami with her finger. She didn't move.

"Tikki, please! Wake up!"

Marinette began shaking her.

"Tikki!" Marinette cried out again, her tears trickling down onto the limp body of her kwami. Still, the little god didn't move.

Marinette's breath caught in her throat and it felt like she might never be able to breathe again. It became stuck somewhere half way down her windpipe. Her heart felt like someone was reaching in through her rib cage, ripping out and tearing her erratically beating organ up in front of her. Marinette curled her fingers around the limp body of her kwami, cradling her as gently and as lovingly as possible. Sobs erupted from her throat, loud and uncontrollable. They echoed around the room, the tears that streaked down her face, mixing with the blood on the floor.

Gently placing her kwami back down on the ground, Marinette gasped as she caught site of her reflection in the blood. Marinette peered closer, so sure that she had just seen her reflection morph and twist beneath her. Upon closer inspection, everything seemed normal. Just her own broken and teared stained face staring back up at her. A single tear dropped down from her cheek, landing on her reflection, sending ripples of blood outwards until they settled. Marinette gasped. As her reflection cleared, her blue eyes had become orange. Marinette screamed and fell backwards, looking away from her reflection in fear. She looked up and screamed again as the walls were now covered in orange eyes, staring menacingly down at her.

"What have you done?" A flat, familiar voice asked from the door.

Marinette whipped her head around to see Chat Noir standing the doorway. The doors were now open, revealing nothing but darkness behind him, the creature apparently now long gone. His posture was incredibly rigid, and his hands were clenched into tight fists by his side. His eyes were hidden by the shadow of his golden hair, but Marinette could just about make out the angry and betrayed glare on his face. Marinette gasped and found herself automatically shuffling backwards on her hands and knees, the cold blood beneath her seeped between her fingers.

"My father was right." Chat hissed out between clenched teeth.

"Your father?" Marinette managed to shriek back in fear and confusion.

"You really were made for evil." Chat continued as if he hadn't heard her. "And now it's up to me to put a stop to you."

"I – I don't…what?"

Without warning, Chat Noir suddenly lurched towards her. His speed rendered him nothing but a black blur in front of her. Marinette screamed, diving out of the way just in time, rolling through the giant puddle of blood and staining her clothes. Marinette turned her head back towards Chat Noir in alarm, watching him with wide eyes and slowly backing away as he stalked towards her.

"Chat, what are you doing?!" Marinette demanded, pushing herself back onto her feet without taking her eyes off him for even a second. Had her feline partner gone mad? What was he attacking her for? And what was all this nonsense he was spouting about his father and about her being made for evil?

"Ending all of this and taking your miraculous." Chat growled at her. "You hurt me more than I thought anybody ever could. Now do the right thing for once in your life and hand over your miraculous – no one else has to get hurt."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Marinette screamed at him.

Chat Noir merely sneered and crouched down again, ready to pounce. This time, Marinette was more prepared. Or so she had thought. She darted out of his way again, however, she screamed when she felt something tear at her back. She fell clumsily back down the ground, blood splashing all around her. With a grunt, Marinette pushed herself back up, her back beginning to feel like it was on fire. She reached her hand up to feel her back, gasping at the feeling of three long scratches that had torn the fabric of her jacket. Pulling her hands away, Marinette looked down at them and gasped in fear and pain at the sight of fresh, warm blood dripping between her fingers.

Marinette looked back up at Chat Noir in shock and betrayal, however, he just stood there watching her with an emotionless expression. He began stalking towards her again and this time, Marinette was going to make sure that she got the hell out of there. She wasn't sure what Chat Noir was playing at, but he clearly meant her harm. There was barely any love in his eyes when he looked at her now and that thought stung Marinette more than she cared to admit. Now, he looked at her with nothing but cold-hearted hatred and betrayal. What had gotten into her kitty?

Darting towards the door, Marinette leapt into the darkness. It felt like her stomach had dropped out of her body when her feet failed to make contact with the floor that should have been beneath her. Instead, Marinette kept falling and falling into the dark void beneath her. The light coming from the door of the room she had just left faded above her and soon, Marinette was all alone with nothing but darkness surrounding her. Her screams became lodged in her throat and she flailed her limbs around wildly, hoping in vain that she might be able to grab hold of something.

The sudden sound of singing in an unknown language caught her attention, causing her to freeze. Marinette whipped her head around, looking in all directions to try and find the source of the strange sound. Finally, Marinette looked up and this time, she was able to scream. The shadow creature that had chased her down the hall was falling after her, catching up to her, reaching out to her. The shadowy figure gently wrapped its arms around Marinette's back, slowing her fall down as the singing grew louder and louder and louder…

"GAH!" Marinette bolted upright in her bed, panting profusely.

Tikki was awake immediately and flew up from her sleeping spot to hover in front of Marinette's pale and sweaty face. Marinette clutched at her chest in an effort to control her erratic and laboured breathing. Her eyes were wide and wild as her kwami patiently waited for her holder to calm down. Marinette's eyes darted around her room. Her room. She was in her room. It had all been just another nightmare. Another nightmare.

Marinette sighed shakily and fell back down into her bed, kicking the covers off herself in an attempt to cool down. Tikki shot her a sympathetic look which just left Marinette feeling annoyed. If her kwami would just let her speak with Master Fu, then maybe this issue could have been resolved by now. Subconsciously, Marinette found her eyes automatically gravitating towards her window, bracing herself for the sight of bright orange eyes watching her from behind the glass. There was nothing. Just the yellow glow of the city lights and the rising sun. This caused Marinette to let out another sigh and she dramatically swung one of her arms up to rest on her forehead, her breathing now more even and her heart once again settled into a steadier rhythm in her chest.

"Another nightmare?" Tikki asked sadly.

Marinette frowned. Did Tikki even need to really ask at this point?

"Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's the point? It's just the same terrifying stuff as usual."

With a frustrated frown, Marinette turned over to reach for her phone to check the time. It was six in the morning, meaning she didn't have much time before she needed to head off to school. Good. That meant she didn't have to fall back asleep and she could maybe even arrive early for once. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted though by the sight of red that was seeping into Marinette's sheets beneath her. Marinette froze.

No.

 _No no no no no no no!_

Marinette barely had time to register Tikki's gasp, obviously noticing the same thing she just had, as she bolted out of bed, practically jumping to the bottom of her ladder to look at herself in the mirror. Marinette turned around to see blood staining the back of her white pyjama top. Feeling her heart in her throat, Marinette slowly grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up to reveal the skin of her back. The young hero was about to loudly scream when her kwami swooped down and clamped her lips shut, causing the sound to come out muffled and distorted. However, Tikki could not hide her worry as she stared at Marinette's reflection with wide, petrified eyes.

Running down almost the length of Marinette's back were four neat scratches, still oozing out blood. Exactly like the scratches Chat Noir had given her in her nightmare. All Marinette could do was stand there and stare at them in complete shock. Okay, this seemed to be really escalating now. What if these dreams were putting Marinette in mortal danger? Marinette turned her pleading blue eyes to Tikki.

"No." Tikki responded sternly before Marinette had the chance to say anything.

"But Tikki!"

"I said no, Marinette." Tikki frowned. "Maybe next time you're with Chat Noir, you can figure something out then, but Master Fu is out of the question. I'm under strict instructions."

"Even if I'm in danger?!" Marinette squealed.

"Marinette, you're Ladybug," Tikki explained, "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You can't keep running to Master Fu for everything, it puts you both in danger of discovery."

Their argument was silenced by a loud knocking on her bedroom door.

"Mari, are you up yet? Breakfast is ready." Her dad called. Her dad? That was strange. Normally it was her mom who made her breakfast while her father opened the bakery.

"Coming papa!" Marinette called back as naturally as possible, pulling her pyjama top over her head. She carefully dabbed the stinging scratches on her back and thankfully, they quickly stopped bleeding. She dumped her top in the trash, burying it under layers of paper that contained discarded ideas in the hopes of hiding all the blood from her parents.

Marinette quickly got dressed and ready for the day before Tikki flew into her school backpack as she headed downstairs. Her father was waiting for her in the kitchen with platefuls of food on the counter which Marinette stared at with wide eyes. As if on cue, her stomach growled, though Marinette didn't really feel like she had much of an appetite after what she had just experienced. As her shirt brushed against the skin of her back with every movement, she could feel the scratches stinging painfully; a constant hideous reminder.

"Hey Mari," Her father greeted her with a smile, pushing a plate of fresh, warm croissants towards her, "Looking forward to school?"

"Oh, yeah, totally, papa." Marinette smiled awkwardly as she sat down on her stool and began picking at her food while her father stared at her with a smile, though his eyes looked sad.

"That's my girl." He ruffled her hair.

Marinette smiled before she looked around the room for any sign of her mother. "Where's mom?" She asked when she couldn't find any sign of her.

"She's down opening the bakery today," Her father explained, "We haven't really had any chance to spend some time together lately, so I thought I'd make you breakfast today."

"Thanks, dad." Marinette replied, slowly eating her food one mouthful at a time. It was as delicious as always, but the stinging sensation on her back kept her on edge and distracted. Her father didn't seem to be eating which surprised Marinette slightly; that wasn't like him. She continued to watch her father curiously while she ate and he began washing some dishes. Once he had done that, he stood opposite her, leaning on both arms against the counter. His green eyes continued to regard her with sadness which was beginning to freak Marinette out. Her father was always so cheerful. What was bothering him? Was it to do with what she had overheard them talking about?

Marinette couldn't think of anything to say so she continued to eat in awkward silence. Her dad didn't seem to be able to think of anything to say either. It took Marinette a while to eat as she slowly nibbled on her food. Finally, Marinette couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you alright, dad?" Marinette asked.

Tom looked startled. "What? Yeah! I'm fine."

"Okay then…" Marinette trailed off, unsure of whether to believe him.

There was more heavy silence until Tom quietly spoke again.

"Listen…Mari –"

"Oh shoot!" Marinette exclaimed, not hearing her father as she gazed at the clock on the oven in horror. If she didn't make a move now, she was going to be late for school. "I'm gunna be late!"

Marinette quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder and gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek, straining her neck to reach up his incredibly tall form.

"Bye dad, thanks for breakfast!" She called as she darted out the door and down the stairs. She shouted a quick goodbye to her mother as she cut through the bakery and burst through the doors.

Luckily, it didn't seem she was too late today. Students were still hanging around outside which meant that bell hadn't rung yet. Feeling relieved, Marinette slowed her pace down and eventually met Alya and Nino who were sitting on the school steps, arms wrapped around each other.

"Hey guys." Marinette greeted, still slightly out of breath.

"Wow, looks like someone's on time for once." Alya teased and Nino laughed.

"Hey, it's not my fault." Marinette folded her arms across her chest. "School shouldn't start so early." Marinette then looked around and grew sad when she didn't catch sight of Adrien. There went what was left of her mood today. It didn't look like he was going to be in school today.

"Where's Adrien?" Marinette asked and both Alya and Nino chuckled.

"He's pulling up right now." Nino laughed and Marinette sighed with relief.

However, as she did so, the fabric of her shirt brushed up against her back again and Marinette instantly went rigid, clenching her teeth as the stinging sensation shot up her back. Fear once again engulfed her as memories of last night's nightmare began to constantly replay in her mind. The creature, Tikki, Chat Noir, falling into the dark void. Marinette wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

"Hey, girl, are you alright?" Alya asked, her voice laced with concern.

Marinette forced herself to snap out of it. "Errr – yeah, why?"

"You just suddenly went really pale." Alya explained.

"I –"

"Hey, Marinette!" Adrien called from behind her which caused Marinette to gasp and instinctively turn around to the sound of her name being called. Adrien ran towards her, the biggest smile on his face that she had ever seen. Before Marinette could register what was happening, she soon found herself engulfed in Adrien's arms, her face buried against his chest, breathing in his intoxicating scent. All Marinette could do was remain frozen. _He was hugging her, he was hugging her, he was hugging her, he was hugging her!_

They remained in this position for what felt like a while. The sound of Alya clearing her throat caused Adrien to immediately jump back slightly, though he still kept his hands on Marinette's shoulders. His cheeks with slightly pink and he was smiling awkwardly. Again, Marinette remained completely still and in shock as if she had been turned into a statue.

"Marinette?" Adrien asked in confusion and concern when he realised she hadn't responded to him.

A weird noise was the only thing Marinette could produce.

Adrien's eyes widened and he let go of her which had Marinette instantly mentally slapping herself. All she had to do was say hi _dammit._ She couldn't even manage that! Even now, she still remained motionless, her brain rendered completely unable to process what had just happened. Adrien Agreste hugged her as soon as he saw her? Did she wake up the right universe today?

"I think you broke her." Alya laughed, reaching out to grab her friend and shake her.

"I'm fine!" Marinette screamed which made them all jump. The bell rang and Marinette exaggeratedly pointed towards the main doors. "Let's to class go!"

"Yep, definitely broke her." Alya mumbled to Nino who rolled his eyes.

Marinette was about to swing her backpack over her shoulder when Adrien suddenly took it off her causing all three of them to gaze at Adrien with wide eyes. He didn't seem to notice though, only smiling charmingly down at Marinette who felt like she was about to melt into a puddle of goo on the ground. Oh yeah, she definitely woke up in the wrong universe today. But she didn't care. She'll take it. Marinette felt like all her dreams were coming true.

"Allow me." Adrien smiled offering his arm out to Marinette like he had done that day in the park.

Marinette stared at it like an idiot. Thankfully, her best friend stepped in. Alya grabbed hold of Marinette's arm and inserted it inside the space Adrien had made for her. Marinette stared at their intertwined arms with wide eyes and a huge goofy smile on her face. Alya and Nino watched them both walk inside before Alya turned to her boyfriend with wide eyes.

"Pinch me, I'm dreaming." She gasped.

Nino laughed as they both began walking inside as well. "I'll explain everything. You're not going to believe it."

* * *

 **I honestly have no idea when my next update will be, you guys might have to wait longer than a week this time, I'm really sorry. I have one last assignment to do and my birthday is next week. Not to mention I've got to go into hospital at some point and be experimented on (okay I might be being dramatic – gotta have some tests done), so that's a fantastic birthday present, am I right? Uhhhh. Once again, I'm really sorry, but please be patient with me because I'm not exactly having the time of my life at the moment. I hope you guys understand.**

 **Anyway I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to let me know what you think in a review. It always helps, and I read every single one of them. I'll update again as soon as possible.**


	23. Green Eyed Monster

**I'm baaack! Although I'm not completely out of the woods yet. It's been a hell of a hectic week for me. Still haven't had my hospital appointment yet which is on Friday, so fingers crossed that I'll be okay. I managed to sneak in some writing time despite how much I've got going on. Thank you so much to everyone for the birthday wishes, you're all so sweet and lovely. Also, thank you for all the amazing reviews! It's what inspires me to keep writing. Can't believe this story now has 100 followers…like…wow?! Thanks guys!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three: Green Eyed Monster**

Adrien wanted to slap himself. He had vowed to himself that he would play it cool. That he would casually get to know Marinette better so that maybe she would fall for him just as much as he had fallen for her. That wasn't exactly going to plan so far. Adrien just couldn't help himself though. As soon as he saw her when he had stepped out of his car, it was like an elastic band was attached around him, springing him towards Marinette, the tension of the small distance between them too much to bear. Ever since he had woken up this morning, Adrien had been so desperate to see her since Plagg had denied him last night. In the car journey on the way to school his palms had been sweaty, his stomach was in knots and his heart just would not stop pounding. Nathalie had raised an eyebrow when he had barely touched his breakfast; he had pushed his food around absentmindedly on his plate, staring into space with a dreamy expression.

Shaking his head, Adrien knew he really needed to get a hold of himself if his plan was going to work. He could tell he had already frightened Marinette slightly. He had scooped her petite form into his arms without thinking, but it had felt like the most natural thing in the world to do. He wanted to keep her locked tightly in his arms forever where nothing could hurt her. Adrien didn't know that it was possible to love someone so much. He loved Ladybug, and he loved Marinette. That love had morphed itself together, expanding his heart, causing the organ to swell to impossible proportions in his chest, almost making it difficult for him to breathe. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling though. The only thing unpleasant about it was that he constantly ached to be near her.

That feeling was currently and thankfully being soothed though. The feeling of Marinette's arm wrapped around his own sent tingles of electricity through his body. The current flowed through every single vein and artery, making his hair stand on end, increasing his awareness of every small movement Marinette made. Her body seemed stiff next to his. He glanced down at her from the corner of his eye; she was staring blankly forward, her cheeks flushed a bright red. She looked so small and adorable next to him. How had Adrien never registered just how beautiful she was before? Sure, he had always considered her a pretty girl, but staring at her now, he had never truly appreciated her before. Her skin was smooth and pale with cute, small freckles decorating her nose. Her eyes were a gorgeous bright shade of blue that would put the sky to shame. Her hair was thick, dark and glossy and Adrien wondered how it would feel between his bare fingers.

She was truly breath-taking…

It was impossible not to feel Alya and Nino burning holes in the back of his head as they followed him and Marinette to class. No doubt Nino had already filled Alya in on what had happened last night. Would Alya approve? Adrien knew Marinette had a crush on someone and it was likely that Alya knew who that person was. Would Alya resent him for trying to take Marinette away from her dream guy?

Adrien glanced down at Marinette again whose cheeks seemed to have flushed an impossibly deeper shade of red. Was he making her uncomfortable? Was she worried about this person she had a crush on seeing them this way? Adrien couldn't bring himself to feel that guilty over that possibility. Instead, he tightened his grip on Marinette's arm and he heard her let out a slight squeak as he did so. Marinette tended to do that around him: make weird noises. That thought almost caused Adrien to let out a defeated sigh. So he _was_ making her uncomfortable. She didn't want to be near him. But…she had made him that scarf? If she didn't at least care for him a little, then why would she have done such a thing? That gift must have taken a lot of time and effort, so what gives?

They arrived at Miss Bustier's class and Adrien smiled down at Marinette as he opened the door for her. Marinette smiled awkwardly back before, clumsily as always, she tripped over the threshold. They both gasped and Adrien quickly and easily caught her, wrapping his arm around her stomach before she could fall and hit the ground. It looked like this would be something he would often have to do around her. Not that he was complaining. It was just a welcomed extra excuse to wrap his arms around her.

Marinette's face had scrunched up, braced for an impact that would never come. Eventually, as she realised that she hadn't hit anything, Adrien watched as she looked up at him in shock. He just smiled gently at her.

"Careful." He said with a quick chuckle.

"Y-yeah," Marinette stuttered, looking like she was in shock, "T-thank you."

As much as he didn't want to, Adrien helped her back upright and let her go so she could head to her seat. The instant his skin lost contact with hers, his body began aching again. He handed her bag back to her and it seemed that Marinette was struggling to meet his eyes. Oh no. He had blown his chances, hadn't he? He had been too forward with her and freaked her out. Again, Adrien wanted to smack himself. How could he have been so stupid? He was supposed to be taking this slow, playing it casual, and although making sure he was constantly around her as Adrien and Chat Noir, not overwhelm her too much to the point where he would frighten her off. He had already figured out that Ladybug could be a bit skittish and easy to overwhelm, so it was pretty much a given that Marinette was the same.

"Thanks." Marinette mumbled as she took her bag back, moving a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She was still refusing to meet his eyes and Adrien began to panic even more. He was losing her, and he had barely even had time to begin his plan. He had ruined his chances already. Marinette was probably terrified of him; freaked out at how forward he had been earlier.

Adrien watched sadly as Marinette stumbled towards her seat and Alya immediately began whispering to her. With a sigh, Adrien took his seat besides Nino. Nino shot his best friend a sympathetic but confused look.

"What gives, dude?" Nino leaned in to whisper. "I thought you were gunna ask her out?"

"She likes someone else, remember?" Adrien growled. "What's the point of going straight to asking her out if she's just going to reject me?"

Nino facepalmed. "For someone so intelligent, you sure are dense sometimes."

"Hey!" Adrien hissed. "This isn't easy. Plus, you're one to talk."

Nino shook his head. "I told you not to worry about the person Marinette likes."

"But why?" Adrien demanded. "Not that it matters now anyway, I've probably blown it."

"Just keep being yourself, man. _Ask her out._ "

"It's not that simple."

Nino slammed his head against the desk.

Their conversation was interrupted by Miss Bustier taking the register. As soon as Adrien had announced his presence, he could not help but become intrinsically aware of Marinette behind him. Every little movement she made had him wanting to turn around and see if she was okay. All he wanted to do was turn to look at her, but he knew he couldn't. _Play it casual, play it casual, play it casual,_ he kept repeating to himself in his head over and over again. Worst of all, he didn't want her getting suspicious of him before she could fall in love with him. At least when she found out after she had fallen for him, her feelings would guide her back to him, despite likely being upset that he had known about her identity. This way, he could prove that he loved both sides of her and he could get her to fall in love with both sides of him.

"L-Ladybug…there's something I need to tell you." Chat Noir found himself stuttering slightly, his stomach was tangled in nervous knots as Ladybug gazed at him in confusion.

"What is it, Chat?" She asked. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I –" Chat tried to force the words out. "I know who you are."

"What?" Ladybug gasped.

"So I think it's best you know who I am." Chat continued, clenching his fists anxiously. "I promise that my actions were not malicious. I saw you transform one day and it only made me fall for you even more…Marinette."

Ladybug squeaked, her cheeks erupting into a bright shade of red. "Chat! We aren't supposed to know each other's identities!"

"I know, but I couldn't stand it any longer!" Chat bellowed, his heart aching and begging for him to tell Ladybug the truth. "Now, I need you to know who I am!"

"Don't you dare!"

"Claws in!"

There was a burst of green light and then there was silence. Adrien clenched his eyes tightly shut, suddenly afraid of witnessing Ladybug's reaction to his civilian form. What if she didn't love him? What if she rejected him? What if she was so mad at him for what he had done that she never wanted to speak to him again? Despite his fears, Adrien couldn't bring himself to regret his actions. To try and win his lady's heart, it was worth it.

"A-Adrien?" Ladybug finally gasped out.

Adrien slowly opened his eyes. Ladybug was staring at him with eyes wide with pure shock, unblinking and unmoving. Adrien was beginning to grow worried as the seconds ticked by and Ladybug still hadn't moved. He sighed in defeat. His plan hadn't worked. Ladybug was about to get angry and reject him. He supposed his deserved it. He was unworthy of the love of a girl as amazing as Ladybug anyway.

"I'm sorry, my lady." Adrien sighed. "I'm sorry that I kept this from you and exposed our secrets to each other. But I just couldn't take it any longer. It was selfish of me, but I just love you so much. When I saw who you were beneath the mask, my love for you only exploded into something much bigger and intense. I love you my lady…my princess."

Suddenly, warm, soft lips collided with his own, taking him completely off guard. He soon melted against her though, responding to her deep passionate kiss, moulding his lips with hers and wrapping his hands around her waist before moving one hand up to run through her hair. She felt exactly she had done when she had kissed him on the rooftop all those weeks again. She was so perfect. Adrien could feel tears of happiness welling up behind his closed lids. Much too soon, they needed to break apart for air. Adrien pressed his forehead against Ladybug's and smiled down at her, both of them panting slightly for air. Her body perfectly pressed against his, as if they were two missing pieces of a jigsaw, designed just for each other; a perfect fit.

"Oh Adrien, my silly kitty," Ladybug smiled and whispered, "I love you too."

A hard punch to Adrien's arm snapped him out of his daydream. He shook his head and looked around, dazed and confused, his stomach plummeting as he realised that what had just happened had all been a fantasy. There were a few sniggers of laughter from his classmates as Adrien snapped his head back around to his teacher who was staring at him with a concerned expression. Nino must have punched him when Miss Bustier had tried to get his attention and failed. Adrien could feel his cheeks turning pink.

"Adrien, are you alright?" Miss Bustier asked.

"Errr, yeah!" Adrien replied a little too enthusiastically.

There was some murmured laughter among the class again and he could feel Nino cringing next to him. Oh great, now he had just embarrassed himself in front of Marinette. Now she was going to think that he was even more weird and then she'll never want to go near him again. Oh no! This whole day was _not_ going as planned. So far, all he had managed to do was mess up and freak Marinette out.

"As I was trying to say," Miss Bustier continued, "Adrien you'll be partnered with Alya for this exercise."

Adrien and Nino both sighed sadly at the same time and Adrien shot Nino an apologetic look which Nino laughed and waved off as Miss Bustier declared that he would be partnered with Juleka. Adrien began sulking even more as his teacher announced that Marinette would be paired with Nathaniel. Why did fate hate him so much today? If he had been paired with Marinette, he could have used it as an opportunity to recover from his over eagerness earlier. He'd get the chance to properly talk to Marinette.

Wait a second…

Marinette was paired with…Nathaniel.

Adrien's memory began to taunt him with images from a few years ago, not long after he and Marinette had first become superheroes, of Nathaniel and his crush on Marinette. It was one of the main reasons he had become akumatized. Chloé had teased him over his drawings that obviously displayed his crush on Marinette who… _he then used as bait!_ Adrien's heart lurched at that memory. He had allowed his lady to go out and face an akuma in her civilian form! So _that_ had been Ladybug's _secret_ mission. And now, Marinette was working with him! Did Nathaniel still have a crush on her? Adrien struggled to hold in a gasp. Nathaniel had asked her to dance that day when Mariana did those classes. He _did_ still have a crush on her. Adrien needed to think of something. He couldn't have Nathaniel getting in there and asking Marinette out before he could. Did Marinette return his feelings?

His panicked thoughts were interrupted by the class shuffling around to sit with their partners. Nino moved to head over and sit next to Juleka while Alya moved forward to sit next to him. Adrien risked glancing back and saw that Nathaniel had moved down to sit next to Marinette behind him. Good. That meant that Adrien could listen in on their conversation and make sure nothing happened.

"Hey Marinette." Nathaniel cheerfully, but somewhat shyly greeted her.

"Hi Nathaniel." He heard Marinette greet back just as cheerfully.

Adrien gritted his teeth tightly together and glared straight ahead.

"Earth to Adrien!" Alya waved a hand in front of his face.

"Huh? What?"

Alya chuckled. "Someone seems very… _distracted._ "

"No I'm not."

"So, do you wanna get started on the work then?"

"Sure." Adrien said, clicking his pen before he froze slightly and sheepishly turned to look at Alya. "What are we supposed to be doing?"

Alya rolled her eyes before laughing again. "We're supposed to write a sonnet together."

"Errr, right, I knew that."

"Sure." Alya pushed her notepad between them. "Though I'm sure you don't need my help to write about love at the moment."

"Ssssh!" Adrien hissed before quickly glancing back at Marinette who was busy writing something down while adorably sticking her tongue out. His eyes then quickly darted to look at Nathaniel who was also staring at her, watching her write with a small smile on his face. Adrien narrowed his eyes at him.

However, Alya soon grabbed his cheeks between her thumb and fingers, forcing him to look back around and away from Marinette. Immediately, Adrien felt like his eyes were starving, hungering to have Marinette back in his field of vision. He glared at Alya who had an amused expression on her face before he gently grabbed her wrist and removed her hand off his face.

"Nino told you everything, didn't he?"

Alya nodded, smirking. "Aside from the fact that you're being completely obvious, yes, Nino told me everything."

"Do you think Marinette has noticed?" Adrien asked nervously.

"No." Alya laughed. "I love Marinette to death and she's the bestest friend I could ever ask for, but the girl can be a bit clueless sometimes."

Adrien sighed with relief just as Alya leaned in closer.

"And seen as she is my best friend, you wouldn't like to know what I would do to you if you ever hurt her." Alya threatened, her hazel eyes turning to steel.

Adrien gulped.

Alya laughed again. "Relax Adrien, I know you're a good guy, I'm only messing with you…mostly." She gave him a gentle nudge with her shoulder. "But seriously, I do need to know that you're being serious and that you are going to treat Marinette right. I really don't want her to get hurt."

"I've never been more serious about anything in my whole life." Adrien sighed dreamily.

"Okay okay, Romeo, that's good enough for me. No need to get too gooey."

Adrien chuckled. Okay, at least it seemed that Alya approved of him and Marinette potentially being a couple one day. Did that then mean that Alya would prefer Marinette to be with him than with the person she currently had a crush on? Did that mean that whoever Marinette was crushing on was a horrible person? Oh no, if that was the case then he needed to get Marinette out of there and quick.

The sound of Marinette's laughter caused him to freeze. What if she did return Nathaniel's feelings? Her laughter at that moment seemed to suggest that she did. It felt like something was trying to claw its way out of Adrien's chest at that thought. He wanted to shove Nathaniel away from her. Shove him into some void where Marinette could forget about him. Whoa. Where had that come from? Adrien began internally freaking out even more. What was wrong with him? Why would he think such nasty thoughts? He just couldn't help it though. The thought of Marinette…and Nathaniel…it sent a disgusted shudder down his spine and made his stomach feel queasy. He couldn't allow this! What if Nathaniel hurt her? As he observed before, Alya seemed more than willing for Marinette to date him despite likely knowing about her crush on someone else, meaning that maybe this person wouldn't treat Marinette with the respect she deserved.

"Have you guys managed to come up with anything yet?" Alya turned around to ask Marinette and Nathaniel behind them.

Adrien turned around as well, struggling to contain the glare aimed at Nathaniel.

"No, not much." Marinette replied.

"Just that this boy and girl who are in love but end up turning against each other due to misunderstandings and because of the actions of their parents." Nathaniel explained. "But deep down, they still long for each other and belong together."

"Sounds romantic yet depressing." Alya giggled.

"It was Nathaniel's idea. He's the more creative one when it comes to ideas and writing." Marinette shrugged. "I mean, have you seen how much his comics have improved?"

Nathaniel blushed as Marinette picked up his work and showed it to Alya. Adrien struggled to maintain a scoff as his heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly. So, Marinette was into creative guys? Now he really was starting to feel like he didn't stand a chance. He couldn't draw, he couldn't write. That poem he had written one time for Ladybug had been cheesy and awful hence why he had thrown it away. He could play a good few musical instruments, but he wasn't sure if Marinette was that into music. She seemed to love her drawing and designing. He could never do something like that. He was just simply a model – a tool to show off the creativity of his father.

"Pretty good, right Adrien?" Alya turned to smirk at him.

Adrien shot her a glare. She knew exactly what she was doing. He was gunna kill her later.

"Yeah, great." Adrien mumbled without even looking at them.

"Errr, thanks?" Nathaniel responded, sounding confused as he took his designs back off Marinette. Their hands briefly touched as he did so, and Adrien felt like he was slowly losing his mind. That should be his hand touching Marinette's! Nathaniel had no right! Okay, he really needed to try and calm down. The hand touch could just be innocent. _Or maybe they're both hopelessly in love._ No! If Marinette was so in love with Nathaniel, then why did she make him such a lovely scarf for his birthday? Most important of all, why did she kiss him? Ladybug had said the kiss meant nothing, but from the moment she said so, he had a hard time believing her. Surely, there had to be at least some sort of spark there for her? She must find him at least a little bit attractive to have done so?

"And don't talk yourself down, Marinette," Nathaniel reassured her, "You're very creative. I always love your designs."

Adrien struggled to contain a growl which caused Alya to smirk at him again.

"Hey Marinette, maybe one day, Adrien will be modelling your designs when you become famous." Alya said and for the first time today, Adrien felt like he could hug her.

Adrien turned back around to smile Marinette. "It would be an honour."

Marinette stared at him with wide eyes and blushed. "I-I-I doubt I'll get f-famous."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't." Adrien's smile widened. "You have such an incredible talent."

"Yeah, Nina Couture of all people has already taken notice!" Alya yelled excitedly. "When do you start your placement with her anyway?"

"A few days." Marinette beamed.

Adrien wished his father had taken her under his wing. Then maybe Marinette would come by his house to assist his father and that way he could've spent more time with her. His father was too damn stubborn though and spent most of his time locked away in their house now, rarely venturing out, even to his main office in the centre of Paris. Then Marinette could work for the Gabriel brand. Then he really could model her work. He felt himself getting giddy at the thought of a future like that together. His princess, one of the best designers in Paris and he would get to work for her.

"And if that doesn't work out," Nathaniel interjected, "I could advertise your designs in my comics."

Adrien glared at him. "Of course things will work out for her, why would you say that?"

"I…I didn't mean any offense," Nathaniel gasped at Adrien's sudden mood swing, "I was just trying to help."

"Marinette will be fine. If Nina Couture doesn't take her on and if she can't start her own business, then I will make sure my father takes her on as a top designer." Adrien boasted and Marinette blinked at him. "Such talent like hers doesn't belong in _amateur_ comic books."

"Adrien, what's gotten into you?" Marinette gasped, looking slightly upset.

"Nothing!" He panicked. "I just want you to believe that you have an amazing future ahead of you. You shouldn't doubt yourself like that."

Marinette frowned slightly. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring others down to raise me up." She gestured towards Nathaniel who was staring sadly down at his comics. Adrien relaxed the slightly menacing facial expression he didn't even realise he was sporting. He suddenly felt very guilty. Marinette was right. Jealous or not, Nathaniel didn't deserve that.

"Sorry Nathaniel, I didn't mean what I said," Adrien apologised, "Your comics are great." Part of him was reluctant to apologise - Nathaniel was trying to steal Marinette away from him after all - but he did know that he had gone way overboard and was being downright rude and mean.

Nathaniel offered him a small smile.

Marinette smiled too and that was all Adrien needed to boost his mood again. Looking at her face full on for the first time properly today, Adrien noticed the large, dark bruises beneath her eyes. Every day she seemed to look even more tired. Had she had another nightmare again? Adrien wanted to kill Plagg. His kwami had stopped him from being there for last night, from protecting her from whatever could be causing her nightmares. Especially as Plagg was the one who had told him that it seemed most likely that someone was psychically invading Marinette's mind. Had she sustained another injury in her sleep? Adrien began panicking, feeling like he was going to throw up. An invisible force was hurting his princess. He needed to stop it. Whether Plagg approved or not, Adrien was going to watch over her tonight.

The rest of the class dragged. He kept most of his attention firmly planted on Marinette which Alya seemed to have accepted at this point. Alya rolled her eyes after the final time she had asked Adrien for ideas and help and settled on just doing the work by herself. Marinette seemed pretty distracted too, Adrien noticed. She would occasionally chime in with an idea and Nathaniel would scribble it down which she would then read and say was fine. The times she wasn't doing this, she just seemed to be staring into her space. When she blinked, her lids seemed heavy, as if she was having a hard time staying awake. Adrien frowned. What if this was what whoever was invading Marinette's mind was planning? Cause her to lose sleep and exhaust her so she wouldn't be able to fight as effectively? When they met up for patrol tomorrow, it was definitely something that he would have to mention to her.

The sound of the bell ringing made Adrien jump and he immediately averted his gaze from Marinette as the ringing seemed to snap Marinette out of her daydream. The last thing he needed was for Marinette to catch him staring at her like some sort of creep. They gathered their things together and headed to their science classroom where Ms. Mendeleieve was already impatiently waiting for them. Adrien took his seat, smiling at Marinette as she walked past. Marinette gasped at this and tripped over again, only this time, she managed to catch herself before she could fall. Adrien's arm reached out in reflex anyway, grabbing hold of her arm, enjoying the pleasant electric shock that went up his own arm as he did so.

"You okay?" Adrien asked, gently and reluctantly letting go of her.

"Y-yeah." Marinette stuttered before hiding her face in her hair and taking her usual seat behind him.

Alya winked at him as she too walked past and Ms. Mendeleieve began the class, barking out instructions to the students before writing them on the board. Adrien sighed, struggling to pay attention while his mind was completely consumed with nothing but Marinette. Adrien was so excited for Marinette to find out who he really was so they could begin building a life together. Their superhero jobs would be so much easier once both of them were in the know. His lady would hopefully soon truly be his. He was already addicted to the taste of her just from that one kiss they shared weeks ago now. He hungered for more. He craved more. Adrien hoped that soon, he would be able to get his fix all the time. He could cuddle her whenever he wanted. Kiss her whenever her wanted. He knew he would never want for nothing or need anything ever again once he was sure that he could call Marinette his and have her heart in exchange for his. Because right now, he was just left with a big gaping hole in his chest. Marinette already had his heart. Now he just needed hers.

A loud, high pitched scream suddenly made him and the rest of the class jump. Ms. Mendeleieve turned away from the board, her eyes wide with fear before they narrowed and zeroed in on something behind Adrien. That scream…Marinette! Adrien whipped his head around, as did the rest of the class, to stare at Marinette who was leaning back slightly in her chair, her eyes wide and wild as she struggled to catch her breath and beads of sweat dripped down her forehead. A nightmare. She'd fallen asleep and had another nightmare!

"Rise and shine Dupain-Cheng." Chloé mocked and Sabrina laughed.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng," Ms. Mendeleieve folded her arms and sneered at Marinette. "I trust my class isn't boring you so much that you fell asleep."

"No, Ms. Mendeleieve." Marinette gasped, still looking like she was in a state of complete fear and shock.

Adrien frowned. Someone had invaded her dreams while she was in the middle of class? But what? How? Adrien looked around the room for signs of anything suspicious. He looked down into his slightly open school bag to see Plagg gazing up at him and then glancing at Marinette with narrowed eyes. Adrien quickly averted his eyes in case anyone wondered why he was staring down at his bag. Nothing seemed unusual in the room. Was someone lurking outside? He was really struggling to understand what was going on and what had just happened. It seemed his presence and the presence of many others wasn't enough to protect Marinette from whatever was going on. That thought nearly caused Adrien to have a panicked meltdown.

"Don't lie, Marinette," Chloé teased, "There's no shame in screaming like a wimpy little girl after having a nightmare."

"Shut up, Chloé!" Alya snapped as she wrapped her arm around Marinette's trembling shoulders.

"Screaming like a baby," Chloé continued to mock, "Wait until the whole school hears about this!"

"Maybe she needs her midnight feeding." Sabrina teased with her which caused Chloé to laugh coldly and loudly.

"That's enough!" Ms. Mendeleieve barked.

A stool abruptly scraped the floor behind Adrien and he looked back to see Marinette had darted out of her seat. Tears were plainly streaming down her cheeks despite her efforts to hide her face in her hands. Small sobs escaped her mouth as she ran towards the door, bolting out of the classroom.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, come back here this instant!" Ms. Mendeleieve bellowed but it was too late. Marinette had already darted down the hallway, the door slamming shut behind her.

Without thinking, Adrien stood up from his seat and began running after her, only to be halted by a small hand grabbing hold of his arm. With a glare, he looked down at who it was to see Chloé gazing up at him in shock and betrayal.

"Are you seriously going after her?" Chloé gasped, tightening her grip on his arm.

"You saw how upset she was." Adrien growled. "How could you say things like that to her."

"Oh please!" Chloé scoffed. "She's an attention seeker. Always has been."

Adrien frowned. "Sounds to me like you're talking about yourself there." He snatched his arm out of her grip before running out of class, hoping to find Marinette and see if she was okay.

"Mr. Agreste!" Ms. Mendeleieve yelled before growling at the rest of the class. "If anyone else feels like leaving they can head straight to the principal's office."

Adrien headed down in the direction he had seen Marinette disappear before rubbing the back of his head as he wondered where she would have gone next. Had she just run straight home? He found that unlikely as she had left her stuff in class. Adrien really couldn't believe Chloé. She had always been one of his closest friends but since he started school, he was really starting to see a different side of her. When they had been kids growing up together, she had always been so nice, a little bossy, but still nice enough. Now he really realised that she had a bad nasty streak. How dare she tease Marinette like that?! He would be sure to have a word with her about that.

That's when Adrien began to hear muffled crying. He strained his ears and turned around, seeing the school bathrooms just across the hall from him. Of course. Adrien walked over and stood awkwardly outside the female bathrooms before the pained cries of Marinette made up his mind. He burst through the bathroom doors, not caring that he was in the girls' bathroom; his only care was checking on Marinette.

Marinette squealed as he entered, lowering her shirt and gripping the hem of it, pushing it down as if it was somehow going to defy gravity and fly back up on its own. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him and her teeth were gritted together. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were flushed, stained with tears. Marinette blinked as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing, and Adrien thanked his lucky stars that the bathroom was empty as this would likely be hard to explain to someone. Adrien didn't know why, instincts maybe, but his eyes drifted down to Marinette's hands which were unmistakably stained red. Adrien gasped and upon realising what had caught his attention, Marinette quickly turned around and washed her hands, scrubbing at her skin vigorously.

"W-what are you doing in here?" Marinette hissed as she continued to wash her hands.

"I came to see if you were okay." Adrien explained, taking a few cautious steps towards her, not wanting to frighten her. "What was on your hands?"

"Nothing! I'm fine! You're not allowed to be in here, you'll get into trouble."

"Don't care." Adrien frowned. "I'm sorry about what Chloé said."

Marinette sniffed. "You don't have to apologise for her."

"Well, she still shouldn't have said those things."

A sob escaped from Marinette before she clamped a wet hand over her mouth to contain it. "She was right though. It was just a stupid nightmare and I screamed like some…some child!"

"Hey," Adrien gently soothed her, taking another few steps closer, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Marinette reached a hand around to rub her back which had Adrien raising an eyebrow.

"I don't normally have nightmares. I guess that's just why I got so scared."

Adrien knew there was a hell of a lot more to it than that, but he guessed that she wasn't going to tell him. It looked like he would have to wait until they were both turned into their alter egos before he could find out what it was that she dreamed about today that had her nearly screaming the whole school down. It must have been bad to get that kind of reaction out of her. Adrien bit his lip worriedly as Marinette continued to rub her back before she turned back to stare at her reflexion. She wiped her face with some tissue, making sure to clean the mascara that had begun to run down her cheeks with her tears. Adrien felt completely helpless. He knew he couldn't do much for her at the moment because Adrien was supposed to be naïve to the whole nightmare thing and that frustrated him so much.

Instead, Adrien settled for the only thing he could do at the moment. He closed the remaining gap between them and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, trying hard not to overstep her boundaries too much like he was pretty sure he did this morning when he had hugged her out of the blue. Marinette gasped and went rigid, staring down at the reflection of his hand on her shoulder in the mirror, her cheeks turning bright pink.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about Marinette, we all get scared. Even Chloé." He offered her a small reassuring smile. "Everybody will have forgotten about what happened by tomorrow. And everybody has nightmares too. I can get some pretty bad ones sometimes."

"You do?"

"Yeah, totally," Adrien said, "And they scare me to death. They mainly involve my mother." He revealed, looking down sadly, his heart thumping painfully in his chest at the memories off all of the nightmares he'd had involving his mother. His mother screaming for him, losing her in the middle of a vast maze, unable to locate her, and many many more. Sometimes they even had him waking up screaming.

"I…I'm sorry." Marinette gasped as she placed her hand on top of the one he still had on her shoulder.

They both offered each other small smiles before they froze when they heard the bathroom door open. Alix walked in before she stopped stone still when her eyes caught sight of the both of them, raising her eyebrow at the sight of Adrien hanging around in the girls' bathroom. Both of their faces erupted into bright shades of red, wondering what Alix was possibly thinking of the situation.

Alix then shrugged and continued walking towards one of the stalls. "Don't worry," She chuckled, "I never saw anything."

* * *

 **Little bit of a filler chapter, but judging by my plans, this is the last predominantly filler chapter. Things are gunna really start to pick up, so I hope you guys are prepared. I'm still curious as to what your theories are and if they have changed or anything. I hope the quality of the chapter wasn't** _ **too a**_ **wful. I'm still not in the best of places and I had stupidly tried out some incense in my room and that stuff always sends me all loopy. Yeah, mistakes were made. No more incense while writing. Feel like I'm having an out of body experience right now or something.**

 **Anyway feel free to let me know what you guys think in a review. It always helps. I'm hoping my next update will be at some point over the weekend if everything goes well for me the rest of the week, so keep your eyes peeled.**


	24. Shared Visions

**Hello everyone! Just in case I have readers here who don't read my other Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction, my hospital appointment went really well. I had a little bit of a cancer scare, but after some tests, it turns out I do have a little bit of a tumour, but it's not cancerous or dangerous. I'm completely fine, thank goodness! I've been kinda secretive about the whole hospital thing, so I thought I'd best explain. Plus this can maybe be a lesson for you guys too. Get any suspicious lumps or symptoms checked out! Better safe than sorry.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for the lovely reviews. You guys are so awesome and thank you to those people who have added this story to their favourites, have followed it or to those who just simply read it. It keeps me writing.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four: Shared Visions**

It took Adrien a while to calm Marinette down enough for them to head back to class. The whole time she tried to compose herself, Adrien had hovered awkwardly over her, desperate to wrap his arms around her and reassure her that he wasn't going to let anything hurt her. But he couldn't do that. Adrien was supposed to have no idea of what was going on. He wasn't supposed to know that Marinette was Ladybug. Playing dumb during the whole situation was incredibly difficult to do. Their next patrol wasn't until tomorrow, so Adrien would have to wait until then to maybe try and pry out of her what dream it was that she'd had in class.

Seeing Marinette in so much pain like that…it ate away at him like he had just stepped into a river full of starving, flesh eating piranhas. The sight of tears cascading down her flushed cheeks and the trembling of her body had nearly caused Adrien to break down and admit everything. That he was Chat Noir. That he knew that she was Ladybug. He couldn't do that though. It wasn't the right time and would have just made things worse. Right now, focusing on getting Marinette through what ever terrifying ordeal she was going through was his number one priority. There was something out there that was after her. She'd had a dream while he was sitting right in front of her. Yet he hadn't noticed anything suspicious. Could someone have psychically invaded her mind over a vast distance? He would have to ask Plagg at some point.

Once Marinette had managed to calm down enough, Adrien had cautiously wrapped his arms around her shoulders, curiously noting her small shiver when he did so, and lead them both back to class. However, that turned out to be a waste of time. As soon as they'd opened the door, Ms. Mendeleieve had ordered them to go straight to the principal's office. Adrien had frowned at her, annoyed that his teacher could clearly see that Marinette had been deeply upset, yet she had decided to punish her. He wasn't too worried about himself. He didn't care about getting into trouble for looking out for Marinette. Though if his father heard about him being sent to the principal's office…well…he just hoped his father wouldn't take him out of school. If that happened, how would he keep an eye on Marinette during the day? He'd only get to see her at night's as Chat Noir and then he'd have to come up with a new plan to win her over and protect her. Shaking his head, Adrien banished those thoughts to one side, bringing his focus back to the frightened form of the love of his life.

Mr. Damocles had given them a run of the mill lecture. He inquired as to why Marinette seemed so upset to which Marinette began to stutter in response. Adrien had quickly covered for her, simply stating that Marinette had been extremely stressed and was suffering from insomnia. Mr. Damocles seemed to buy it, adding that he hoped that Marinette would soon get that issue resolved. Marinette had shot him a grateful look which swelled Adrien's chest with love and pride.

Adrien kept a close eye on Marinette for the rest of the day, walking her to and from class, and the more time he spent around her, the less awkward and stuttering she seemingly became. Did that mean she was getting used to him? That maybe she was starting to like him now, no longer disliking and mistrusting him? Adrien sure hoped so. It would be a lot easier to protect Marinette during the day if she liked having him around. Not to mention it placed him that much closer to maybe having Marinette fall for him one day. Adrien sure hoped so.

However that happiness was short lived when Adrien had offered Marinette a ride home. She had insisted that it wasn't necessary as she pretty much only lived across the road, but Adrien's paranoia whispered and assaulted him with thoughts that Marinette was finding him annoying. Those thoughts only grew worse when Marinette had awkwardly wished him goodbye before walking in the direction of her parents' bakery. Adrien watched her leave, his eyes glued to her small form as pain exploded in his chest, growing worse with the increasing distance she placed between them. How was Adrien going to cope before he could see her tonight as Chat Noir? He already felt like he was going crazy. What if the person who was after her was still around? What if they attacked her while he wasn't around to protect her? Those thoughts almost had him impulsively running after Marinette before the quiet laughter of Nino and Alya brought him back down to reality.

"Chill out, dude," Nino chuckled, "You're staring at her like you're never going to see her again."

Adrien plastered on a fake smile and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"You weren't kidding, Nino," Alya joined in, "Adrien is completely smitten."

Nino then playfully glared at him. "Though I see that you still haven't asked her out."

"I'm working on it." Adrien hissed.

"There's nothing to work on." Alya laughed.

"You don't understand." Adrien muttered low enough for them not to hear.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Adrien's bodyguard loudly beeping the car horn, signally for Adrien to hurry up. Adrien sighed, shooting Marinette's distant form one last longing look, watching as she headed inside the bakery and disappeared from sight. He gave Alya and Nino a quick miserable goodbye, which they sympathetically returned, and Adrien could feel their eyes on his back as he headed down towards his car. His bodyguard got out and opened the door for him and Adrien collapsed onto the leather seats, wishing that he didn't have to go home. He wanted to be with Marinette. He _needed_ to be with Marinette to make sure that she was okay.

The large sight of his family mansion leering at him in the distance caused a small sigh to escape his lips. His house would be his prison until the sun set and he could sneak out without his father or his bodyguard spotting him. Dinner on his own was always something to look forward to, followed by a few hours of his Chinese lessons. Adrien already knew that he wouldn't be able to concentrate. His mind was too full of Marinette, practically drowning in the very thoughts of her. His love for her. His worry for her.

Adrien trudged miserably towards the front door of the mansion, his bodyguard on his heels as always. His large, imposing bodyguard opened the door for him and Adrien was about to head upstairs before he glance up and gasped at the sight that was waiting for him at the top of the staircase. His father appeared to be waiting for him, a stern, cold expression on his face as his hands remained clasped behind his back, retaining perfect, intimidating posture.

"F-father?" Adrien stuttered in surprise. What was his father doing meeting him when he arrived home from school? His father rarely ever came to speak to him, especially straight after school. He was always so busy working.

Gabriel's eyes tightened ever so slightly and Adrien gulped. So that was why. He was in trouble.

"Adrien, in my office. Now." Gabriel demanded coldly and flatly.

Adrien sighed, glancing up at Nathalie to try and figure out from her expression what was going on and how much trouble he may possibly be in. Once again, Nathalie's professional and expressionless face gave little to nothing away. She appeared to be refusing to look at Adrien which he took to be a bad sign. What was going on? What had he done? Oh no! What if his father was about to forbid him from going to school again? Adrien began searching through his brain, desperate to quickly put an argument together in hopes of winning his father back round again. It was no use though. His father's word was final and no matter what Adrien did and said, his father was always going to win and get his own way. Adrien had pretty much gotten used to that aspect of their relationship by now. Gabriel had always somewhat been like this, but it had gotten even worse ever since his mother had disappeared.

Once Adrien had made it inside his father's office, Gabriel was already sitting down at his desk, his hands clasped in front of him and his head bowed with his eyes closed. There was a strange vibe radiating off him and Adrien couldn't quite figure out what it was. All he could sense was that something was wrong and his instincts were screaming at him incoherently. Nathalie practically slammed the double doors behind him, the sound echoing around the large, mostly empty room, sending small vibrations throughout Adrien's entire body. Adrien briefly glanced at the portrait of his mother on the far wall, hoping her warm green eyes and smile could bring him some momentary comfort before he was forced to face his father's wrath.

"Sit down, Adrien." Gabriel commanded, still not looking up.

Adrien obeyed and sat down as quietly as possible without saying a word. He didn't dare to. Adrien knew what would happen if he spoke out of line in this situation. He knew he had to try and stay in his father's good books as much as possible. Making sure to sit up straight, Adrien waited for his father to begin speaking.

Gabriel finally opened his eyes and looked his son up and down before he moved his clasped hands upwards to lean his chin on them. His steely grey eyes finally made contact with Adrien's green ones. Adrien made sure to keep his facial expression as neutral as possible. They both appeared to be locked in a battle of wits, waiting to see which one of them would break first which confused Adrien even more. Just what was his father up to?

At last, Gabriel spoke.

"I had an interesting phone call earlier." He began.

Adrien stared at his father in confusion.

"From Mr. Damocles."

"Oh." Was all Adrien could respond with. So Mr. Damocles had called his father to tell him what had happened. Adrien had been afraid of that. This was it. His father was about to prohibit him from going to school _again._ He wasn't sure anything was going to save him this time. But damn, Adrien was going to try. He needed to be at school. Not just because it offered him a degree of longed for normality and he had made some amazing friends there, but now more than ever, he needed to be there in order to protect Marinette. His father seemed to be about to jeopardise all of his plans.

" _Oh?_ " Gabriel repeated. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"I –"

"I am profoundly disappointed in you Adrien." His father interrupted him harshly, slamming his hands back down onto his desk. "You storm out of class and make a show of yourself just for the sake of some girl who is of much lower standing than us. To bring shame on yourself is to bring shame onto me and our business empire."

"Father –!"

"You begged and begged me to go to a _normal s_ chool and you display your gratitude by getting yourself into trouble."

"Father! My…friend…Marinette was really upset. I couldn't just do nothing. The whole class was laughing at her and teasing her." Adrien finally quickly managed to explain. Adrien wasn't too sure, but it seemed that at the mention of Marinette's name, a dangerous sparkle appeared in his father's eyes. It was so fleeting, that Adrien wasn't sure he had seen anything at all.

"Well this _friend_ of yours appears to be a bad influence." Gabriel growled out.

Adrien knew where his father was going with this. His heart lurched in his chest and he went into instant panic mode, unable to think of nothing but preventing his father from doing the unthinkable. Adrien couldn't let this happen! He couldn't! Marinette was his world! His everything! He needed to be able to see her so he could protect her!

"No!" Adrien yelled, managing to startle his father as he abruptly stood up from his chair with so much force that it was sent flying backwards. "You can't stop me from seeing her!"

Gabriel stared at him with widened eyes.

"You always just instantly judge people. You think everyone is beneath you when they're not! Marinette is an amazing person! She's really been there for me, especially the other day on mom's…" Adrien trailed off, clenching his fists tightly at his side.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "This girl…Marinette…you say she is just a friend?"

"Yes." Adrien replied flatly. It was a lie, but he couldn't exactly tell his father the truth, especially with how Marinette had now been introduced to his father. His first impression of her was negative; Marinette was a bad influence. His father had completely gotten the wrong end of the stick, but he would stubbornly never see it that way. That first impression would be ingrained in his mind now and he would never approve of Adrien having a relationship with her. If he did manage to win Marinette over, he would just have to find some way to keep it a secret until Adrien could find a way to move out and away from his father's control.

Gabriel sighed. "I was young once too, Adrien."

Adrien gawped at him, taken aback. Where had this come from? His father…talking to him like a normal father would. Was he about to launch into some sort of _talk._ That would be horrifically awkward.

"I had quite a way with women when I was your age." Gabriel smirked, reminiscing. "I didn't really care to settle down. I was young, rising my way up in the fashion industry and making a name for myself. But then I met your mother." Gabriel turned to smile softly at her portrait. "I was in the middle of a fling with… _her co-worker_ when we first met. She was so stunning. I walked in on her in the middle of a photo shoot and I knew instantly that she was all I ever wanted in life. I can't help but wonder if…that was when all of our troubles began…"

Adrien could do nothing but stare at his father in shock. His father had never gone into this much detail about his past with his mother before. All Adrien pretty much knew was that they had met through work. His father had been an up and coming designer and his mother had been an up and coming model and actress. That was the limit of his knowledge on his parents' past. They had never really liked to talk about it with him that much, so Adrien had stopped asking and not thought much of it. His parents had always been very private people. So to hear his father suddenly talk about this came as quite a surprise.

"I'm not stupid, Adrien." Gabriel frowned again. "I can tell that your feelings for this girl extend beyond more than just friendship." The corner of his lips twitched slightly. "You are behaving very much like I did when I met your mother. I see a lot of your mother in you, Adrien. But sometimes…I do see myself…"

Adrien wasn't sure what to say. His father sounded so sad over that last observation. They continued to sit together in a few minutes of awkward, heavy silence. Adrien kept searching through his brain for something to say, but honestly, he was still speechless over what his father had just revealed to him. Adrien's mother had clearly been the love of his father's life. He denoted from what his father had revealed that none of his previous girlfriends had even come close. Adrien felt his stomach sink at the thought of how his father must have felt when he heard the news that his mother had gone missing. It made Adrien morbidly wonder how he would feel if something terrible was to happen to Marinette. If she were to…

No! Adrien couldn't afford to think like that. He was worried enough about her already. Thinking things like that would make him go crazy. Unlike his mother, Marinette was a superhero. She could look after herself for the most part and would likely never fall victim to what had happened to his mother.

"Tell me about her." Gabriel sat back in his chair slightly. "I'm assuming this is the same Marinette who won that hat competition I held."

"You remembered?" Adrien asked in astonishment.

"Of course, that hat was incredibly well made."

Adrien beamed. "She is so talented father. Even now, I think she could rival even you. But she's also sweet and kind. She's the daughter of the owners of the bakery across the road from my school. She's really clever too, and funny."

Gabriel's expression remained neutral. "I'm glad to hear it." He paused before his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "But I'm sure she also has her bad qualities. Nobody is perfect Adrien, and I get the sense that you idolise her too much."

"Well, sure, she can be really stubborn, clumsy and sometimes impulsive, but that doesn't make me lo – like her any less."

"We all have our secrets." Gabriel glanced down at his desk. "There's a darkness we keep hidden inside ourselves that we only reveal to those closest to us when it's too late."

"Errr…she won't hurt me…if that's what you're worried about?" Adrien squeaked, starting to feel a little freaked out.

"I'm sure she won't." Gabriel smirked. "Maybe when she finishes school I can offer her an internship."

Adrien chuckled. "That's if Nina Couture hasn't swiped her up first. Marinette's already doing a work placement with her." He gasped and clamped a hand over his mouth.

Gabriel's eye twitched. "Is that so? I should have got in there sooner, shouldn't I?"

Adrien removed his hand from his mouth. "Aren't you mad? I thought you didn't want anyone anywhere near Nina?"

"I said I didn't want _you_ to go anywhere near her. What Marinette does with that woman is of no concern of mine."

Adrien narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What do you want me to stay away from her for anyway?"

"Some very bad things happened between us long before you were born Adrien. I don't want her influencing you or telling you things that are either not true or none of your concern." Gabriel explained vaguely.

Adrien began to panic slightly, feeling less happy about Marinette taking part in this work placement with a woman that his father seemed to distrust and hate more than anything. Was Nina somehow dangerous? How could that be? She seemed so nice when she came to visit their school and she clearly made Marinette happy. But Adrien admitted, there was something about her that didn't seem right. He had even picked up on it when he had first met her. Why had his father never mentioned her until now if they were such a big part of each other's lives? Nina had mentioned that she had seen Adrien when he was a baby. Yet Adrien never remembered seeing her while he was growing up or even hearing anything about her. Nina seemed almost like a ghost who had just appeared out of nowhere. But what harm could she possibly cause Marinette by offering her a work placement?

"Like what?" Adrien dared to ask.

Gabriel frowned. "Isn't it time for your Chinese lessons?"

"But father –"

"Leave now. I have work which I must attend." Gabriel's tone was final and Adrien knew better than to argue with his father when he decided to suddenly close back up like this. Who knows, his father seemed to open up more than he ever had tonight, so maybe Adrien could get some more answers out of him at a later point.

As Gabriel began to shuffle through some papers, Adrien gave his father one last longing glance which Gabriel ignored before Adrien began heading towards the door. He opened it to find Nathalie standing outside waiting, watching Adrien with a hint of curiosity. Adrien ignored her and stormed straight into his room, slamming his door behind him in frustration.

Nathalie stared at Adrien's bedroom door for a few moments before she turned and walked swiftly into Gabriel's office, quietly shutting the door behind her.

"Sir? You're encouraging him with his relationship with Ladybug? Why?" Nathalie inquired, feeling completely confused.

"It's all in hand, Nathalie." Gabriel responded, not once looking up from his work. "To lure Adrien in, I must offer him something he wants most in the world right now."

"But…offering to support him in his relationship with a girl who –"

"I said it's all in hand, Nathalie." Gabriel repeated, harsher this time. "If I want to get Adrien on side then I need him to trust me completely. Besides, for my plan to work, I need my son to get close to Ladybug."

"But sir…Adrien could get hurt."

Gabriel sighed before smirking. "Sometimes Nathalie, you have to be cruel to be kind."

.

The rest of the evening dragged by incredibly slow for Adrien. While he waited for it to get late enough for him to head out, he paced around his room impatiently, earning many annoyed glances from his kwami who continued to stuff his face with cheese. Adrien had barely managed to concentrate during his Chinese lessons, much to the chagrin of his teacher. It was a relief when his teacher finally left, that way Adrien didn't have to force himself to concentrate on anything but the time.

By ten o'clock, Adrien switched his bedroom lights out, pretending that he had gone to bed. The sun had also finally set, revealing a clear night with a full moon and bright stars twinkling in the night sky. Adrien couldn't wait any longer. Regardless of what Plagg said, he was going to visit and keep watch over Marinette tonight and make sure that she was okay. Luckily, Plagg didn't protest too much when he summoned his transformation. Maybe it was because Plagg had witnessed what was happening to Marinette first hand today. Adrien certainly wasn't complaining.

Extending his baton, Chat Noir began gliding through the city of Paris, across the top of buildings and towards Marinette's apartment. He smiled when the small bakery came into view. The whole street was quiet and deserted and the bakery was closed with the blinds down. A small light emanated from the top floor of the apartment – Marinette's room. Adrien landed on her balcony before placing his baton away. Despite her light still being on, Chat Noir was sure that Marinette would be asleep by now, given how tired she had clearly been at school today. He was a little disappointed at potentially not getting to spend any time with her, but at least he would be able to keep watch and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

Taking a deep breath, Chat Noir climbed over the balcony railings, gripping on with on hand as he shuffled closer to one of her bedroom windows. Chat peered inside and was shocked when he saw two blue eyes staring back at him in shock. Marinette was sat at her desk, directly in front of the window, fiddling with what appeared to be a sewing machine. Chat felt his cheeks go slightly pink at getting caught peering into her room like he was. He had been so sure that she would be asleep. Great, now she was going to think he was some sort of perverted creep.

Appearing to get over the initial shock at the sight of him, Marinette smiled softly and nodded towards the hatch that was at the top end of her balcony. She got out of her chair and climbed up her ladders to head over there herself, opening the door for him. Chat Noir climbed back up and gracefully hopped down into the entrance that had been made for him, landing in a cross-legged position on Marinette's bed. Marinette giggled slightly as she bounced up and down slightly on her mattress when Chat landed on it. She reached up and sealed the door behind him before sitting back down across from him on the bed, glancing at him with a puzzled expression.

"Hey Chat, what brings you here?" She asked.

"Oh, I was just passing through and thought I'd _paws_ to check on you."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "At least you seem to be in a much better mood than the last time we hung out."

Chat smiled. "Yeah, I think I pretty much managed to get everything sorted with y – errr – Ladybug."

"Errr, right. That's great, I'm glad to hear it."

"What about you, _purrincess?_ Manage to get everything sorted with this guy you like?" Chat Noir forced a joking tone, but it was difficult – near impossible – with the jealous monster that was rearing its ugly head inside him again. Chat Noir really had to try and fight it down. Maybe this would even be the perfect opportunity to find out who this guy was.

Marinette looked down sheepishly, her cheeks staining red with embarrassment. "Not exactly." She admitted. "Though I think some progress is being made. He seemed particularly interested in me today for some reason. Talking to me more than normal and being really nice to me."

Chat frowned. So it was Nathaniel she liked then. How could he have been so stupid and not connected the dots sooner? Marinette was madly in love with Nathaniel. There was no other explanation. Chat Noir was really going to have to step up his game. He couldn't lose the love of his life to _Nathaniel._ Sure, he had always liked the guy, but now Chat Noir couldn't help but hate him for trying to steal his princess away from him. Looking at her now, sat in front of him wearing her pink and white pyjamas, looking so unbelievably adorable, Chat Noir just wanted to scoop her up and kiss her like his life depended on it. Nights like this, where he could sneak into her room at night as Chat Noir and spend many hours with her, kissing her, cuddling her and loving her. All of that could be his right now if it wasn't for that stupid, irritating Nathaniel.

"Well, I'm sure things will work out." Chat hissed out a lot more harshly than intended.

Marinette noticed and looked back up at him. "Hey Chat, are you okay?"

"Me?" Chat let out a fake chuckle. "I'm fine. I should be asking you the same question. Why aren't you asleep? Look at those bruises under your eyes."

"I know." Marinette turned away, embarrassed. "I've been having problems sleeping lately."

"So I see."

"And I completely and totally humiliated myself today!" Marinette shrieked, hiding her head in her hands. "I ended up falling asleep in class, had a nightmare and woke up screaming. It was so embarrassing."

"What did you dream about?" Chat asked, seizing the opportunity.

"I…it's hard to explain." Marinette dodged the subject. "They're just not pleasant."

Damn, Chat guessed Marinette wouldn't want to go into any detail for fear of possibly revealing her identity. Chat Noir should have thought about that. He would just have to wait until patrol tomorrow to find out. It would be an arduous wait, but Marinette wasn't going to reveal anything tonight. Once again, Chat found himself wanting to spill everything. But no…he couldn't. Marinette would only freak out and hate him for it. He had to follow his plan. It was the only way he could see this working. As desperate as he was for Marinette to know the truth, he knew it wasn't the right time.

"You said you were just passing through, right?" Marinette asked, looking away nervously.

"Umm, yeah?"

"Do you have anywhere you need to be?"

"Not really."

"It's just…I was wondering…" Marinette trailed off, looking more and more nervous and afraid.

"What is it, princess?" Chat Noir asked softly. "You know you can ask me anything."

Marinette bit her lip. "W-would you stay with me for a bit? A-at least until I fall asleep. I-I don't want to be on my own as I fall asleep."

Chat was taken aback but deeply honoured. Marinette trusted and liked Chat enough to ask him to stay with her. _Cool your whiskers,_ Chat Noir scolded himself. Marinette was clearly frightened and really needed him in this moment. This would provide him with an even better opportunity to protect her and figure out what was going on. She needed him. She admitted that she needed his help, his comfort. Chat was going to try his best to deliver on that. In that moment, Chat just wanted to wrap his arms around her, to shield her from everything that was scaring her. She looked so vulnerable, so pale and so tired. She needed rest and this sick person who was doing this to her wasn't letting her get any. Chat found himself being incredibly grateful for the surprising lack of akuma activity lately because he knew that Ladybug might not be able to fight as well as she normally would. No doubt Hawkmoth would see and take full advantage of that.

"Of course, princess." Chat Noir smiled at her. "What are superheroes for if they can't protect a damsel in distress." He winked at her.

"Ever the flirt." Marinette rolled her eyes again but smiled gratefully at him.

Marinette slowly and unsurely shuffled down so that she was lying with her head on her pillow. She curled into a tight ball, leaving room for Chat Noir to sit at the end of her bed. For a few hours they chatted about everything and nothing and Chat Noir smiled as Marinette's eyes fluttered closed, responding to him tiredly before she stopped responding entirely. Chat couldn't resist the opportunity to study her sleeping face. She looked so peaceful. Her lips were parted slightly and Chat forced himself to resist the urge to lean down and kiss them. Marinette's slow, steady breathing filled the room, lulling Chat Noir into a feeling of drowsiness. No doubt Marinette had expected him to leave as soon as she fell asleep, but there was no way in hell he was going to do that. He was staying to make sure nothing happened to her. Because whatever was invading her dreams was somehow able to physically harm her.

No matter how hard he tied to fight it, Chat soon found that his own eyes were beginning to droop and he slouched further against Marinette's wall, the sheets and cushions underneath him feeling incredibly soft and comfortable. Marinette's breathing was like a lullaby in his oversensitive ears, making him feel like he was slowly ascending into the sky and drifting peacefully across the clouds. Marinette was there too. Laughing and giggling playfully, beckoning him to come towards her. Who was he to resist such a beautiful siren's call? Smiling, Chat bounded towards her before Marinette's eyes suddenly widened at the sight of something behind Chat and she gasped.

Feeling like he was crashing back down to Earth, Chat Noir's eyes snapped open to find himself back in Marinette's bedroom, positioned slouched against her wall at the end of her bed. The room felt darker…colder. Chat could see his breath coming out in puffs of steam in front of him, dancing and swirling through the air before disappearing. Panicking, Chat glanced down at Marinette who had sat bolt upright in her bed, staring with a terror-stricken expression at something in the corner of her bedroom. Chat Noir frowned and followed her line of sight and gasped in horror.

In the corner of Marinette's room was a humanoid figure. It was shrouded in darkness and Chat Noir was unable to make out any discernible features. He could just tell that whatever it was, it was tall. The darkness in the room seemed to be radiating from whatever creature this was. Upon being noticed, it stood up straight before it began stumbling towards them. Walking like a clumsy toddler who was not used to using its legs before it glided up the ladder, pausing when it came directly face to face with Chat Noir.

Chat Noir felt his blood run cold. Was this what was invading Marinette's mind? He had never seen anything like this before. He was speechless. He didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he needed to get Marinette away from whatever the hell it was. Despite not seemingly having eyes on its featureless black face, Chat Noir felt like the creature was staring into his very soul making him feel completely exposed. The creature tilted its head slightly before leaning even closer to him. Chat Noir's eyes widened in fear and anger. This was what was invading Marinette's mind, frightening her and harming her. He wasn't going to let it get away with that.

The creature made a strange gargling noise, like someone trying to talk with a mouthful of liquid. Chat Noir had had enough. He'd seen all he needed to see. At this thought, Chat Noir frowned and placed his hand on his baton, ready to pounce and attack this creature for daring to mess with his princess.

However, Chat Noir froze in place again at what sounded like a voice coming from the creature. It sounded like a bad television reception and he heard the creature try to speak in a language he did not recognise before seemingly managing a few understandable words. Those words caused Chat's heart to stop in his chest.

"H-help…sa-sa-save…h-her."

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 **Dun dun duuuun. So what do you guys make of that chapter? As always feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review. I read every single one of them and take them all on board. They really help me out a great deal. I hope you guys have an awesome week and I'll see you soon.**


	25. Blood Soaked Snow

**Hi again, I hope you guys have all been having a lovely week. Reading your reactions to the previous chapter was pretty funny considering most of you were screaming at me. I live for reactions like that hahaha. Thank you so much for the reviews guys, I really appreciate it and this story now has over 100 of them which is awesome! It's nice to see so many people are enjoying this story, it keeps me writing.**

 **CAUTION: This chapter contains descriptions that might be slightly disturbing.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Five: Blood Soaked Snow**

Chat Noir stared at the creature in front of him in state of complete shock and fear. The shadowy humanoid kept staring at him, continuing to produce broken noises and choking, gargling sounds. Chat could barely comprehend the intelligible words the creature had managed to produce. He was too consumed by fear and anger. What…what was this thing? Chat Noir had never seen anything like it. Of all the enemies they had faced, this was something entirely new. Was this what was invading Marinette's dreams? Giving her terrifying visions and harming her while she slept? Why hadn't Chat seen it appear while they were in school?

The sound of Marinette whimpering in fear snapped Chat Noir out of his frozen state. Marinette's whimpering seemed to capture the attention of the creature as it slowly turned its head to look at her. Marinette shuffled away from it as much as she could, her eyes wide with horror and filling up with tears as she stared back at the creatures featureless, dark face. It reached a hand out to her and that was the final straw for Chat Noir.

Growling, Chat Noir kicked his legs out at the creature, his feet disappearing in a mass of blackness before he felt himself hit something that felt reasonably solid. The creature was sent flying backwards across Marinette's room. A louder gargling sound erupted from its throat as it landed on the floor. The creature pushed itself up slightly before it gagged, vomiting black liquid onto the floor as Marinette and Chat Noir both watched in horror. However, Chat quickly shook his head, using this opportunity to try and get Marinette out of there. He crawled towards her petrified form and scooped her up into his arms.

"Don't worry, princess, I'm getting you out of here." He whispered to her before he felt Marinette wrap her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him tightly and burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Chat Noir carried her towards the trapdoor that led out to her balcony before adjusting Marinette's weight so he could free his hand to open it. Luckily, the door burst open easily and Chat Noir gripped Marinette tightly in his arms before he made a jump for it. His head barely made it through the door when he felt something grab hold of his leg. With a startling amount of strength, Chat and Marinette yelped as they were both dragged back down into Marinette's room and thrown across the room. Chat's shoulder slammed against one of the wooden pillars, forcing him to lose his grip on Marinette, sending them both rolling to opposite sides of the room.

Grunting in pain, Chat Noir rubbed his shoulder and tried pushing himself upwards, only to collapsed again as his shoulder couldn't take his weight. He looked towards Marinette in panic. She had managed to get up and was backing away from the creature as it walked towards her, its arms reaching out towards her. The furniture in Marinette's room began to levitate, floating away before fading and disappearing from view. The walls slowly vanished, revealing nothing but a dark void surrounding them as Chat Noir watched the whole scene play out in pure fear.

"Marinette!" He cried out, forcing himself upright again before screaming as Marinette fell off the edge of her bedroom floor, plunging down into the dark void. Her screams echoed around him as Chat Noir shrieked and ran towards the edge where she had fallen just as the creature darted down after her. Chat was unable to grab hold of the creature in time, clutching at nothing but air as Marinette and whatever that thing was disappeared from sight.

Without thinking, Chat Noir leapt off the edge and jumped down after them. Instead of falling through the air after them, Chat Noir merely gently floated which caused him to let out a scream of frustration. He need to get to Marinette! He needed to save her from that…that… _thing!_ Feeling his panic growing even more at the fact that he was no longer able to hear or see anything, Chat tried flailing his arms around in the hopes that he would fall after them faster. His efforts were futile. He remained suspended in the air, gently floating down as if he was as light as a feather.

"Marinette!" Chat Noir cried out into the void.

No response.

His heart almost leapt out of his chest when he heard nothing in return. Where was she? Had the creature managed to get a hold of her? What was it doing to her? If that thing harmed one hair on her head then that creature would pay with its life. Tears fell from Chat Noir's eyes, floating upwards into the air instead of trickling down his cheeks. He was supposed to be protecting her. Yet he was failing to do that. He had failed today at school and he was failing to do it now. No matter what, that creature always seemed to get its hands on her. Well this time, Chat Noir was going to hunt it down and make sure that it never hurt nor came anywhere near Marinette again.

As he continued to float downwards, Chat Noir could feel the air growing colder and colder against the exposed skin of his face. He began to see his breathe in front of him, along with a bright white light below him. After being used to floating in the darkness, the light hurt his eyes, and Chat Noir briefly closed them out of reflex. He slowly opened them again, allowing them time to adjust as he floated closer and closer towards the light. Had Chat Noir died? Was this some sort of limbo and that light was the gateway to the afterlife? Chat Noir wasn't sure what was going on, but it gave him a foreboding feeling; terror of which he had never experienced before. Fear consumed every cell in his body, his mind locked on the question as to whether Marinette was alright. He needed to find her. Had she fallen this way? Into this bright light?

Something small, cold and wet hit Chat Noir on the cheek and he reached up to wipe whatever it was away. Looking down at his fingers, Chat narrowed his eyes in confusion at the clear liquid which seeped between his fingers. That's when Chat Noir began to notice the small, white flurries of snow which were beginning to surround him. The snowflakes grew larger the longer he fell, the howling sound of a stormy wind grew louder and louder.

The bright light below him expanded, consuming his whole body and Chat Noir gasped as he closed his eyes to block out the blinding rays. He felt his body land on something soft and unbelievably cold. The cold shot up through his body, as if someone had just plunged a sharp knife into his chest. Chat Noir opened his eyes as the force of the wind nearly violently knocked him over. He managed to steady himself as cold snowflakes were pelted against his face, feeling like small, sharp pebbles were being thrown at him at full force. It was dark. So dark that Chat could barely see a few feet in front of him, even with his night vision ability. However, over the howl of the wind, Chat Noir's sensitive ears managed to pick up what sounded like a woman screaming.

"Marinette!" Chat Noir immediately began calling out her name in panic, running as best as he could in the deep snow, following the sound of the screaming. The wind made it difficult, but Chat was pretty sure that he was on the right track. The howling of the storm almost deafened him, making the scream impossible to hear for normal ears. Trudging onwards, terrified over what he might find, Chat's mind began assaulting him with images of Marinette being tortured by the creature. With a gasp, he forced himself to go faster, pushing against the wind and the snow. Panic began building up even more when a small red stain appeared in the snow in front of him, and the sight was like a painful stab to the heart. A question began swirling around in Chat Noir's head which he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to: was that Marinette's blood?

As he continued to press onwards, the blood stains in the snow grew larger and larger, turning most of the snowy landscape a brilliant shade of red as if Chat Noir was surrounded by the lakes of hell. Chat Noir nearly screamed at the sight, knowing that surely any person who had lost this amount of blood could not still be alive. Or at the very least, they would be close to death right now. The blood was still thick and red; it was freshly spilled. Chat Noir continued to follow it desperately, hoping with every fibre of his being that it wasn't Marinette's blood.

The surface levelled out slightly, allowing Chat Noir to run much easier. The sound of the scream echoed around him again and Chat Noir began to feel himself growing slightly relieved as the scream didn't really sound like Marinette's voice. He needed to be sure. And if it wasn't Marinette, it still meant that there was someone out here who desperately needed Chat Noir's help. At that thought, Chat Noir began to feel torn. He desperately needed to find Marinette and help her, but there was also someone else out here who needed his help. What was he going to do? Shaking his head, Chat decided he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, following the trail of blood was his best bet.

The scream echoed around in the snowstorm again and this time, Chat was more easily able to pin-point where it was coming from. He was getting closer. He veered slightly to the right, his heart in his mouth, terrified and desperate to find Marinette, praying and hoping that the blood hadn't come from her. As he drew closer, the more confident Chat became that the scream wasn't coming from Marinette. This voice was higher pitched, musical like the clearest bell chime, though at the moment, they sounded like they were in an immense amount of pain. Despite the voice not sounding like Marinette's, it still sounded oddly…familiar?

At last, a small figure appeared, hunched over in the distance. It looked like they were trying to crawl across the snow, although they weren't getting very far. Each reach of the hand to pull them forward looked like it took all the effort and energy this person had left in them. Chat Noir picked up the pace as best as he could, heading towards this figure. As he got closer he could see that this person was the source of the blood. They were completely shrouded in a dark cloak and whoever they were, they were much taller than Marinette which had Chat Noir letting out a small sigh of relief.

"Hey!" Chat Noir called out to the figure.

He got no response, but whoever they were, they had stopped screaming. They froze in place, seemingly unable to crawl forward anymore, remaining on their hands and knees as the snow began to bury them as they continued to bleed out.

"It's okay, just hold on!" Chat cried out as he finally reached them. It looked like a woman, though her face was hidden by the hood of her cloak. There was a long trail of blood behind her, and what flesh Chat was able to see was turning ghostly white and freezing solid. The tips of her fingers were turning as black as night with frostbite and Chat Noir gasped at the grotesque sight. The woman began sobbing uncontrollably, wailing into the storm in what seemed like unimaginable pain.

"It's going to be okay, I'm going to help you. Have you seen anyone else on the mountain? I've lost my…friend." Chat Noir reached out to touch her back when he gasped as his hand went directly through her back. Startled, Chat Noir stumbled backwards in shock. What was she? Some kind of ghost? She didn't acknowledge his presence, instead, she weakly reached out to cup a handful of blood stained snow and cradled it in her hands.

Chat Noir watched her fearfully and with morbid fascination as she continued to hold the red snow in her hands. The snow barely melted against her flesh; her body now as cold as the surrounding storm. Chat wanted to do something to help, but he couldn't even touch her, nor did she even seem to know that he was there. Maybe he was having some sort of paranormal encounter. If dark creatures like what he had just witnessed were real, then maybe ghosts were too.

Realising that there was nothing he could do, Chat Noir began looking around frantically for any sign of Marinette. However, the ghostly woman soon caught his attention again. Leaning back to sit on her knees as she stared at the blood stained snow in her hands, a soft, heartbroken voice began to come from the woman, humming quietly to herself before she began to sing. Chat couldn't quite make out the words through her tears. The sight broke his heart and had him wishing again that there was something he could do.

The cloaked head of the woman suddenly snapped up and she dropped the snow, weakly clenching her hands into fists.

"WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST KILLED ME YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!" She screamed, the wind carrying her tormented words for miles and miles. Another sob escaped her before she twisted so that she was lying down facing the sky, her blood continuing to soak the snow around her. "Why did you have to do all of this to me? You took everything from me and now I have nothing left. Now I'm to die knowing how little I mattered to you. _I...hate...you..._ " Her voice trailed off and her head fell slightly to the side. Chat's eyes widened as he realised she had lost consciousness. Her breathing was weak as she continued to freeze to death.

Tears welled up in Chat Noir's eyes and he once again reached out in an effort to touch her, but his fingers once again fell through her, as if she didn't exist at all. He was sat here helplessly watching someone pass away in front of his eyes and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Had the creature done this to her? Injured her and then left her to bleed to death in the middle of a snowstorm? If she didn't bleed to death first, then the elements would certainly claim her. Marinette could be out here somewhere. The creature inflicting the exact same injuries and leaving her for the storm to claim. He needed to find her!

With one final glance at the ghostly woman in front of him, Chat turned around to try and find Marinette when he gasped before growling at the sight of the creature standing a few feet away from him. Was it his imagination, or did it look slightly different all of a sudden? Slightly smaller and skinnier perhaps. Chat shook his head, realising it was probably just some illusion or that the creature could easily change its shape. It was staring at the dying woman next to him before it slowly looked towards Chat. Once again, despite not having eyes, Chat Noir could feel the creature's intense gaze on him. The sight was creepy. Almost like someone had badly edited a stick figure and copy and pasted it into the world.

"Where's Marinette?!" Chat Noir growled at it.

The creature said nothing.

"What have you done with her?! If you've hurt her, then let's just say you won't like the consequences." Chat Noir threatened darkly, tensing his hands, readying his claws for a fight.

The creature then pointed into the distance at something that Chat Noir couldn't see. What was with this creature? Was it actually telling him where Marinette was or was it pointing him purposefully in the wrong direction? It made no move to attack him, instead, keeping its distance as it held one hand up defensively while pointing into the distance with the other. Chat Noir narrowed his eyes at it suspiciously before slowly walking in the direction the creature was pointing. Chat Noir wasn't sure what was going on, but all of a sudden his instincts were telling him to trust whatever this thing was. Everything seemed to be pulling him in that direction to the point where it was making him feel dizzy. The wind itself even seemed to change direction, pushing him to where the creature had been pointing. He could still neither hear or see Marinette, and not being around her to protect her had him panicking more than he had ever panicked before in his life. He knew Marinette could look after herself; she was Ladybug after all. But that didn't stop him from worrying about her exponentially. Had she managed to activate her transformation? Chat Noir didn't remember seeing any hint of a kwami nearby. What if the creature had hurt her and it was pointing him in the direction of her so that Chat would be forced to watch her die?

At that thought, Chat Noir began sprinting forwards before almost skidding to a stop as the stormy scenery around him began to disappear and the snow beneath his feet was replaced with…concrete? The warm sun suddenly hit his face and Chat Noir gasped in shock, shielding his eyes by raising his arms in front of his face. He slowly lowered them again, giving his eyes time to adjust before he looked around, confused and disorientated. It looked almost like…he was back in Paris.

The afternoon sun was high in the sky, baking the city in glorious summer heat. The sky was a pure blue, not a single cloud in sight. The traffic and citizens were as noisy as ever. Chat Noir quickly looked behind him finding no trace of the stormy mountain surroundings he had literally been running in a few seconds ago. It had Chat Noir doubting whether the whole thing had just happened. It was like this whole thing was just one weird dream.

Wait…

Plagg's earlier words rattled around in his brain. He must have fallen asleep in Marinette's room while he was watching over her. His kwami had mentioned something about Chat Noir getting caught up in Marinette's dreams; the psychic playing field these creatures used to torment her. It must have happened again, only this time, the creature seemed to be targeting him as well. Treating Chat Noir to his own horrific visions to scare him and mess with his mind. Chat Noir frowned. Well, whatever the creature was hoping for, it wasn't going to work on Chat. He was going to find Marinette and find someway of waking them both up.

Chat Noir turned back around, his eyes scanning the area around him. Everything seemed so…normal. No weird visions, no dark voids or terrifying sights of strange, ghostly women dying in the middle of a storm. Just Paris on a normal day. That's when the cars driving by caught Chat Noir's attention. They were sharper in shape, a lot of them longer than cars he typically saw every day in Paris. They looked like cars one would typically see in movies from the seventies or eighties. Chat gasped. Had he…gone back in time?

Looking around frantically, Chat Noir yelped as a red ball came hurtling towards him. Unable to duck in time, Chat Noir braced himself to be hit in the face but…the ball ended up falling right through him. Some small children chased after it, running right through him as well as if he was a ghost. Chat Noir gasped as he finally took in his closest surroundings. Was he in a school? Children ran all around him, playing various games. A teacher stood by the main door of the small school keeping an eye on things and that's when a few voices nearby caught Chat Noir's attention.

"Why would I want to play with you?" He heard a little girl snap. "Just look at the ugly clothes you wear."

Chat turned to see two girls a few metres away. Both of them couldn't have been much older than seven. They both had blonde hair and blue eyes while one of them was slightly taller and wore much nicer clothes, clearly wealthier than the other girl who seemingly wanted to play with her. The smaller girl's clothes were slightly dirty and were miles too big for her. There was something about the more nicely dressed girl that was familiar to Chat Noir. She gave him a huge Chloé vibe.

"Please Audrey?" The other little girl begged, sounding close to tears, clutching a teddy bear against her chest.

Audrey? As in…Chloé's mother?! He knew there was something familiar about that girl. Chat Noir's eyes widened – he really was in the past.

"My mommy says that you're poor and that I shouldn't hang out with poor losers like you." Audrey stuck her tongue out and a few of the other children laughed. Spurred on by the attention, Audrey laughed mockingly as she snatched the teddy bear out of the other little girl's hand and slammed it against the ground, getting it all dirty. The other girl burst into tears which only seemed to cause Audrey and the other children to laugh even more.

"Hey, everyone!" Audrey laughed. "Let's all call her smelly loser from now on!"

Chat Noir frowned.

"Smelly loser, smelly loser!" The other kids began to chant.

That's when another small blonde girl stormed past Chat Noir, standing between the two girls to glare menacingly at Audrey. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she was dressed nicely in a purple dress with a matching purple bow in her hair. Her emerald green eyes were filled with fire as she continued to glare at Audrey.

"Mom…" Chat Noir gasped, feeling his heart and stomach drop down to his feet. Immediately, Chat Noir longed to reach out and touch her, yearning to feel her arms around him again. But she wasn't his mother in this scene. It was so surreal seeing his mother as a child. He'd seen photos of her when she was a child, of course, but seeing it in real life like this was bizarre.

"Leave her alone!" His mother yelled, shielding the other girl from view as she continued to sob.

"Look guys," Audrey continued to laugh, "The new girl is sticking up for that pathetic loser."

"Too right I am!" His mother folded her arms across her chest. "You're mean and you're nasty and she doesn't need to play with people like you anyway."

Chat Noir watched the whole scene unfold in a state of complete shock. He had always thought his mother and Audrey had been best friends since the beginning. They were like two peas in a pod, laughing and chatting together while him and Chloé were left to play together. To see Audrey behaving like that, and to see him fighting with his mother…it was all so eye opening and confusing. Why was he seeing all of this? Was this part of the dream? Was this something that really happened? Or was it just the creature playing more mind games with him.

Audrey glared at his mother before the bell rang, signalling that playtime was over. Audrey flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder before leading her gang of friends back towards the school. Meanwhile, his mother stayed behind with the other small blonde girl and gave her a sympathetic look. The other girl continued to cry, though she had calmed down slightly now that Audrey was gone.

His mother sighed before smiling and reaching down to pick the teddy bear up off the ground. She dusted it off before handing it back to the girl. The other little girl gently took it off her before staring at his mother in shock, clutching the teddy bear against her chest like a lifeline.

"Nobody has ever stuck up for me before." The girl whispered.

"That's awful!" His mother gasped. "Why were they picking on you?"

The girl shrugged. "Because I live in a care home. Because I have to wear hand-me-downs. Because I don't have any friends."

His mother smiled. "Well, I'll be your friend!"

"You will?"

"Of course! I'm new here so I don't have any friends either, but you seem nice."

The girl smiled.

"I'm Emilie by the way." His mother held her small little hand out towards the other girl. The other girl looked at it for a moment before she slowly raised her hand out, placing it in his mother's and both of them shook hands. They both giggled and the other girl's smile widened, her familiar deep blue eyes sparkling hypnotically.

"I'm Nina."

Chat Noir's eyes snapped open as he jolted awake, panting for air as cold sweat dripped down his forehead. His heart felt like it was beating at a million miles per hour, pounding against his ribcage in rapid succession as if it was trying to escape his chest. The childhood face of his mother swirled around in his mind along with what he had just witnessed. Was…was that real? Was that something that had really happened. His mother…had been friends with Nina? None of it made any sense. Surely that meant it was just another mind game of the creature? Right?

Marinette stirred and Chat Noir sighed with relief, seeing that she was okay. She suddenly bolted upright in bed and nearly screamed when she caught sight of Chat Noir still sitting at the end of her bed. He gave her a small awkward wave. He had hoped that he wouldn't get caught staying after she had fallen asleep, but it was too late to try and make an escape now. Plus, he was glad he had been caught. At least it would mean he could get to see if she was alright.

"Chat! What are you still doing here?!" She hissed.

"I…I wanted to make sure you were alright." Chat smiled awkwardly. "You seemed restless in your sleep."

Chat Noir rubbed his sore shoulder, trying to hide how freaked out he was himself. If Chat Noir told her about what had just happened to him, then Marinette would figure out that her secret identity had been exposed. As much as it pained him, he needed to keep his mouth shut and play dumb.

Marinette shivered. "I just had a nightmare, that's all."

Chat Noir wanted to scoot over to her, to wrap her in his arms and comfort her in all the ways people did comfort the person they loved most in this world. But he couldn't. He didn't want to freak her out any more than she already was. The ache to touch her was almost unbearable though and Chat Noir had no idea how long he was going to able to resist. His plan had barely been in action for over a day. He was going to have to put up with it for weeks, maybe even months. Yet already he felt like he was going to crack. He really needed to get some better self-control.

"You want to talk about it?" Chat offered.

Marinette shook her head. "It doesn't matter. It's just a stupid dream."

Chat raised an eyebrow at her. "Well it clearly has you freaked out."

"I'll get over it." Marinette shrugged.

"Okay then." Chat held his hands up in defeat.

Marinette sighed. "You should probably get going, I'd hate to think I'm keeping you or that I'm being an annoying burden. I should never have asked you to stay; it wasn't fair of me."

"Don't be silly," Chat Noir smiled softly, "I'd do anything for a beautiful princess like yourself."

Without thinking, Chat leaned across her bed and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek before opening the trapdoor that led to her balcony. He glanced over at Marinette one last time. Her face had turned a bright shade of red as she stared at him with wide eyes. Chat chuckled at how adorable she looked.

"I'll _cat ya_ later, princess." Chat winked at her.

"Y-yeah…"

Chat Noir leapt out onto the balcony before closing the door behind him. Naturally, he wasn't planning on actually leaving. There was no way in hell he was leaving Marinette alone after what had just happened. He just didn't want to end up looking like a creep by staying in her room against Marinette's wishes. Sighing, Chat Noir sat down on one the deck chairs she kept on her balcony and stared up at the stars. He could just about make out the sound of Marinette talking to someone. Her kwami perhaps? Chat Noir strained his ears to listen but couldn't pick out much. They were whispering much too quietly for even his extra sensitive ears to pick up on what they were saying.

What had the creature done to Marinette in her dreams? Had she seen visions similar to what he had? Of all things, why had Chat Noir seemingly seen a vision of the past? How was that even possible? Chat Noir frowned as he decided it was most likely all a fake. Just another vision created by the creature. But why? And for what purpose? None of this was making any sense.

Only one thing was certain. They were now dealing with another enemy as well as Hawkmoth. The most worrying aspect of all, was that this one seemed _much_ more dangerous.

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 **Uh oh, so what do you guys make of that? I wasn't feeling too well when I wrote this chapter so I hope that it's turned out okay. As always feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review. It's a huge help if you do. I'll see you guys again soon.**


	26. Conflicted Heart

**Welcome back! I was actually meant to update this story on Wednesday, but I ended up getting some sort of food poisoning which was as fun as it sounds. I just seem to be having the worst luck lately, it's unreal.**

 **To the mystery guest reviewer who I could not reply to through PM, yes, you are absolutely right. Nothing a writer writes is an accident so everything that has been placed in my story has been placed there intentionally and serves a purpose. I'm a big fan of foreshadowing so everything in my story has especially been put in there deliberately.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for your responses on the last chapter guys, I always really appreciate the feedback. Also, thank you to those who have added this story to their favourites or who have followed it. It's always awesome to see that people are actually enjoying this story.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Six: Conflicted Heart**

"You know he doesn't really love and care for you." A musical, familiar, feminine voice whispered in Ladybug's ear sending tremors down her spine and making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Warm hands gripped her shoulders, pinning her in place as she stared blankly ahead towards the two figures in the distance. Ladybug could make out that one of them was Chat Noir, his glowing green eyes giving his identity away as he glared at her. Behind him was a tall figure who looked like a man. He too was gripping Chat Noir's shoulders, whispering words into Chat Noir's ears that Ladybug could not hear. Whatever Chat was being told, it was making him angrier and angrier.

"All he cares about is _Ladybug._ " The voice continued to whisper. "The perfect version of you. He doesn't really care about _Marinette._ He only fell in love with Marinette once he found it she was Ladybug."

A tear slowly trickled down Ladybug's cheek.

The woman tightened her grip on Ladybug's shoulders, leaning further towards Ladybug's ear. "Look at everything he's done. He's lied to you. Deceived you beyond forgiveness. Are you going to let him get away with this?"

"I –"

"Think about it, my little Ladybug," The woman continued, not giving Ladybug a chance to speak, "All the power you could possess. I know you're not interested in power, but you could shape the universe any way in which you desire. I know there's a price to pay for such a thing, but don't you think it would be worth it? To create a perfect universe? Where there will be no crime, no discrimination and prejudice, and no injustice and suffering. Everyone will be happy and healthy; everyone living in harmony together? Doesn't that sound wonderful? We – _you_ – could create the perfect universe."

Ladybug found herself smiling as a floating sensation overcame her. Her whole body felt limp. Why was she smiling? Ladybug had not instructed her face to smile. The woman let go of her and all Ladybug could do was watch, horrified as her body began walking forward without Ladybug's input. It was like she was possessed. Someone had taken complete control of her body and Ladybug was powerless to stop it. Panicking, Ladybug kept walking forward, straight towards Chat Noir and the mysterious figure standing behind him.

Chat Noir looked her up and down, sneering at her as she continued to approach before he nodded at something the mysterious figure behind him said. Ladybug's smirk widened. Chat Noir would pay for what he had done. The whole Agreste family would pay. They were evil. All of them. Nothing but pure evil. They were selfish and did whatever was necessary to get what they wanted. Ladybug had been no exception. Chat Noir had wanted her. He got her. He destroyed her. Now he was going to pay. They were all going to pay.

 _Take his miraculous._

Ladybug was more than happy to oblige.

"MARINETTE!"

Marinette yelped as her eyes shot open, nearly flying backwards off her desk chair before her mother caught her and steadied her in time to prevent her from falling. Dazed and confused, Marinette's eyes frantically scanned her room. She was so sure that literally a few seconds ago, she was sat at her desk, focusing on a design to help prevent her from falling asleep again after Chat Noir left last night. After what had happened, Marinette was far from comfortable falling asleep again. That shadow creature…what was it? Why was it seemingly after her? She had spent her whole dream trying to outrun it as it continued to reach for her. All the while, a deep voice in a strange language echoed throughout the dark void. Now it seemed she was back to nightmares about wanting to attack Chat Noir.

"Th-thanks, mom." Marinette gasped as she pushed herself back up into a normal sitting position.

Sabine watched her daughter with concerned eyes and a hint of longing sadness. Marinette wasn't sure if she was imagining it but her mother looked…pretty rough today. The normally chirpy, petite Chinese woman had dark bruises under her eyes as if she hadn't slept for days. Her black hair was slightly more untidy than usual and it looked like she might have lost a few pounds. Sabine looked willowy and frail, as if the slightest gust of wind would knock her over. Marinette had never seen her mother look like this before. It sent her into a slight panic.

"Hey, mom, are you alright?" Marinette asked, concern lacing her voice.

Sabine's eyes widened slightly before she brushed invisible dirt off her clothes and smoothed them out, suddenly looking very self-conscious and flustered. Her cheeks turned slightly red as she brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, nervously placing it behind her ear as her eyes flickered the side, looking anywhere but at Marinette. Marinette raised an eyebrow at this. Her mother was a terrible liar and she was terrible at hiding things. Something was definitely wrong. Marinette still needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with her parents. A deep sinking feeling suddenly overcame Marinette, and her eyes widened as thousands of horrific thoughts began racing through her mind. Each one pounded at the inside of her skull causing Marinette's heart to begin pounding nervously.

"Mom?"

"Mmm?" Sabine's eyes quickly flashed back to her daughter and then away again, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

Marinette gulped. "You…you and dad…you're not splitting up, are you?"

Sabine looked back up again, her eyes wide with confusion before she relaxed slightly and reached out to gently stroke Marinette's dark hair.

"No, of course not!" Sabine exclaimed before letting out a sigh.

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "It's just…you and dad have been acting so weird lately. I want to know what's going on."

"I know." Sabine bit her lip. "And we will tell at some point, we just need to sort a few things out first."

Marinette tilted her head to one side, narrowing her eyes even more. "What kind of things?"

"Never mind that, sweety, I had to come up here to wake you up because you're late for school again." Sabine explained.

"WHAT?!" Marinette screamed, turning around to look at the clock on her computer screen. Sure enough, the morning register would be being conducted right now. Oh no no no no! Marinette was going to get into so much trouble! It would be an afternoon detention for sure this time once the attendance monitors saw how often she had been late these past few weeks.

Sabine left the room, leaving Marinette to scramble around her room to get ready. She threw on her clothes without really paying attention. She brushed her teeth and combed her hair at the same time, all the while reminding herself to take deep breaths so that she wouldn't hyperventilate. Adrien was supposed to be tutoring her again first thing this morning and she was going to be late and embarrass herself – again! Then Adrien would hate her for her tardiness. He would think that she wasn't taking his offer to tutor her seriously and that she wasn't willing to put any effort in. He would get annoyed with her and hate her and then they'd never be able to have their happily ever after!

That thought caused Marinette to speed up even more. She dumped the books she needed for the day in her backpack and scraped a few pencils off her desk, letting them drop in there too. Practically tearing her hair out, Marinette quickly glanced around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

"Errrr…Marinette?" Tikki was staring at Marinette weirdly.

"Uhhhh, Tikki, why didn't you wake me up?!" Marinette squealed.

Tikki sighed. "I tried to. That's what you get for trying to stay awake most of the night."

"I don't have time for a lecture, Tikki! Right now I'm going to be late for Adrien!"

"But, Marinette…"

Tikki trailed off as Marinette began running towards her bedroom door. The red kwami shrugged before quickly flying into Marinette's backpack as she raced down the steps. This routine was feeling all too familiar lately. Even more so than usual. The young hero wasn't exactly known for her great organisation skills and time keeping, but lately, it seemed like she was getting worse. Marinette let out a frustrated sigh at that thought. If it wasn't for those stupid dreams, she wouldn't be having this many problems. Thankfully, the injuries she had received from the previous dreams seemed to be slowly healing over. The deeps cuts on her back from her nightmare about Chat Noir no longer stung as the fabric of her shirt brushed against them.

Briefly waving to her mother, Marinette burst through the front door of their apartment and charged down the stairs, through the bakery, before crashing through the entrance and out onto the busy Parisian street. The school was just across the road, no students outside as, unlike Marinette, they had all made it in time and were already inside. Marinette glanced at her phone and saw that the first period had begun and that Adrien was likely in the library, waiting and wondering where Marinette was. He was probably glaring at the clock right now, tapping his foot with impatience at her lack of attendance. He was probably about to start packing his things away and move on to do his own studying, having given up on Marinette.

Letting out another squeal, Marinette charged across the road, nearly getting run over by a very confused and angry driver in the process. Marinette quickly waved an apology at him before sprinting towards the school and into the main building. She charged down the empty school corridors towards the library before stopping outside the double doors to try and compose herself slightly. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her laboured panting, Marinette smoothed down her hair as best as she could and wiped a layer of sweat off her face with the sleeve of her black jacket. Inhaling deeply through her nose, Marinette cautiously opened the library doors, learning her lesson since last time.

Marinette was able to immediately spot Adrien who was sat in a more isolated corner at a small desk with room only for two. He was looking down worriedly while Nino and Alya stood beside him with amused smirks on their faces. Their amusement only seemed to grow when they caught sight of Marinette timidly walking towards them. Oh no. Adrien's face looked so worried and disappointed. She had let him down. This was it. He was going to tell her that he didn't want to tutor her anymore. He would hate her forever and she would never see him again. Her chances were blown.

"See," Nino elbowed Adrien, "I told you she was just running late."

Alya rolled her eyes. "As always."

Adrien looked up and beamed at her, his face instantly relaxing.

"This boy was ready to send a search party out for you, girl." Alya chuckled and gestured to Adrien with her thumb. "Slept in again?"

"Errr, yeah." Marinette grinned sheepishly before shooting Adrien an apologetic look.

"We'll leave you two kids to get on." Nino laughed, grabbing hold of Alya's hand and practically dragged her away. Their eyes kept darted to Marinette and chuckling slightly which left Marinette feeling slightly confused.

Alya gave Marinette a thumbs up and a wink before Nino pulled them both around the corner of a bookshelf and out of sight. Marinette blushed, hoping that Adrien hadn't seen their little exchange. Biting her lip nervously, Marinette looked back at Adrien whose eyes were looking her up and down before he raised a confused eyebrow at her. Marinette frowned, feeling completely bewildered before she found herself instinctively looking down at herself. She gasped, struggling to contain a scream of embarrassment and awkwardly tried to shield herself from view with her arms. Why why why why?! Why did stuff like this always happen to her?!

All of Marinette's clothes were on back-to-front. Her pink three-quarter pants, her white t-shirt and her black jacket were all on the wrong way. She must have looked ridiculous walking into the library like this! Oh man, what on earth must Adrien think of her? That she's a stupid girl who can't even dress herself in the morning, that's probably what. Marinette felt like her face was on fire, her cheeks likely turning as red as fresh tomatoes and her knees grew wobbly. Why couldn't the ground just swallow her up then and there?

Hastily trying to save as much dignity as possible, Marinette yanked her jacket off and quickly put it on the right way around. Unfortunately there wasn't much she could do about her pants and shirt at the moment, but at least she had fixed the most obvious offender. With an awkward smile, Marinette placed her hands on her hips, trying to remain as cool and natural as possible.

Adrien tried to contain his laughter, biting his lip and placing a hand slightly over his mouth to obstruct his tell-tale smile from view. "A-are you alright?"

"Yep!" Marinette squeaked. "Sorry about being late, I ended up sleeping in."

"It's fine." Adrien managed to calm himself down slightly. "Are you gunna sit down?" He pushed the chair next to him further outwards, making room for Marinette to sit down.

"I – wait, you mean…you're still okay with tutoring me?" Marinette gasped, clasping her hands together nervously.

"Sure? Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just…I haven't exactly shown gratitude by be being late and screwing up all the time."

Adrien waved her off. "Marinette, you can't help it if you slept it. We've all done it."

Marinette bit her lip, walking around the table to take the available seat next to Adrien. She was sitting next to Adrien! _Focus Marinette,_ she mentally scolded herself. She'd already been too weird and awkward today. She couldn't afford to look anymore stupid and creepy. Adrien seemed to be giving her dorky, unorganised mess of a personality the benefit of the doubt so far – which in of itself was unbelievable to her – but she couldn't afford to mess up anymore. Lest she scare the poor boy away.

"I seem to do it more often than everybody else though." Marinette huffed, resting her cheeks against her hands as her elbows rested on the table, her bottom lip protruding into a slight pout.

Adrien offered her a reassuring smile before he tapped his chemistry textbook. "So did you manage to get your chemistry homework done?"

"No." Marinette looked away slightly embarrassed. No doubt Adrien found the whole thing incredibly easy being the intelligent person he was. He probably whizzed through the questions while Marinette had struggled for hours before giving up in frustration, deciding that she would just take the punishment off the teacher for not completing the worksheet.

"Found it difficult then I take it?" Adrien leaned forward, trying to watch Marinette's facial expressions which were hidden from view slightly by her hair and the fact that she was trying hard not to look at him.

Marinette nodded, embarrassed.

"That's okay, we can quickly go through it together now if you want." Adrien offered. "So what is it about it that you found difficult?"

Marinette sighed. "Pretty much everything. Though I always struggle the most with balanced equations."

Adrien nodded and began explaining things to her in a way, much to Marinette's surprise, actually made the work start to make sense slightly. Though she did still find it difficult to get the hang of the methods. Adrien was patient with her the whole time though. Never once getting frustrated with how slow Marinette was being or at the countless mistakes she kept making. He would just shake his head and kindly put her back on the right track. Marinette couldn't bring herself to get over how wonderful he was. He was better than any teacher she had ever had. Marinette began to wonder if there was anything Adrien _didn't_ know how to do.

"You got it, well done pri – I mean – Marinette." He praised.

Marinette sighed, dramatically falling back against her chair, pretending to be out of breath. "That was so tough. I don't know how you know it all and absorb it all so easily."

Adrien shrugged before looking down and playing with a pencil. "When you've been vigorously home-schooled most of your life to be this perfect person to take over your father's business with no friends and little else to keep you occupied, you kind of have nothing else better to do than learn stuff."

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

Adrien finally looked up again and smiled. "It's fine. I got my wish in the end. I got to come here and make such wonderful friends. I got to meet you." His cheeks turned pink.

Marinette could feel her own face turning red again as she giggled awkwardly. "I still wish I had your brains though."

"You _are_ clever Marinette. Intelligence isn't just measured by the speed in which you learn things."

"Yeah, but, just look at all the stuff you can do." Marinette gushed. "You get top marks in everything. You can play the piano, speak fluent Chinese and you can fence."

"So? You're incredibly creative. Your drawings and paintings are amazing as well as your designs. I can't do any of that."

Marinette's eyes widened. "You really think my designs are amazing?"

"Of course! You should never doubt your abilities, Marinette."

The blush on Marinette's face felt like it was getting hotter and redder. Adrien really thought her designs were amazing. He was so sweet and so lovely. It especially meant a lot coming from the boy she loved with all her heart and the fact that he was the son of her favourite designer. The thought of designing suddenly had her nervous for tomorrow. The day was finally approaching where Marinette would begin her work placement with Nina Couture. Could she live up to the expectation? Would Nina suddenly look at her designs more closely and realise that her work wasn't worthy? Would all of the other designers there hate Marinette? What if she screwed something up?! Marinette was beginning to grow dizzy with these anxieties.

"What's wrong?" Adrien frowned, sensing Marinette's sudden mood change.

"I-I'm just slightly worried about tomorrow that's all. I start my work placement with Nina." Marinette explained, rubbing her hands together nervously.

Adrien's frown deepened and something flashed behind his eyes that Marinette couldn't quite pick up on. It was very brief, but Marinette was sure she had seen something flicker there.

"What has you so worried?" He asked.

"I just don't feel like I'm good enough."

Adrien playfully nudged her. "What did I just tell you about doubting your abilities? You couldn't even last one minute."

Marinette giggled. "I'm sorry, it's just…she's a professional designer."

"So? Anything she can do, I'm sure you can do better."

Marinette laughed again. "I wouldn't go that far."

Adrien turned really serious all of a sudden to the point where it took Marinette off guard. Her heart leapt into her throat, her mind reeling, wondering if she had said something wrong or something that had offended him. Adrien meanwhile gazed at her worriedly and leaned in slightly to talk lowly to her, seemingly making sure that no one could overhear them. The closer Adrien leaned towards her, the faster Marinette's heart began to beat, like her heart was a metal detector on a vast beach and Adrien was the rare, precious treasure which it desperately sought.

"Are you sure about this Nina Couture?" Adrien asked her which confused Marinette even more.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just…well…it worried me slightly that I had never heard of her up until now. Especially because she was supposed to be one of my father's biggest rivals in the industry." Adrien explained.

Marinette thought for a moment. "Well, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."

"I don't know," Adrien stared down at the table, still looking worried, "I…I have a weird feeling."

Marinette smiled, touched that he seemed to care enough to worry about her like this. Nervously, she shakily raised her hand and slowly placed it on top of his hand which was resting against the table. Adrien seemed to jump slightly and Marinette nearly pulled her hand away in embarrassment, but Adrien quickly took hold it, slowly stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. Marinette blushed but tried to push down her feelings of childish awkwardness so she wouldn't ruin the moment.

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." Marinette explained. "I've been a huge fan of Nina for as long as I can remember. Not as big of a fan as I am of Gabriel of course, but I've always admired and followed her work. She seems harmless. Just another allusive fashion designer. Let's hope I don't become like that if I actually make it in the industry." Marinette giggled slightly at her own joke.

Adrien chuckled, squeezing her hand a little bit tighter. "It does seem a given for designers to be all mysterious. But y'know…my father wasn't always quite like that."

Marinette frowned as she watched Adrien's worried expression morph into one of sadness.

"It was strange…he actually began to open up to me slightly yesterday. He even told me how he and my mother met."

"That's lovely." Marinette smiled.

"Yeah." A smile twitched on the corner of Adrien's lips too. "Though he used that as another opportunity to tell me to stay away from Nina. That's what had me so worried about you doing that placement with her."

"Oh? Why does he want you to stay away from her?"

Adrien shrugged. "No clue. I can only imagine something to do with not wanting me to fraternise with the enemy or over what has him hating her so much in the first place."

Marinette grinned at him mischievously. "Well maybe tomorrow will be my chance to do some digging and find out all the gossip for you."

Adrien chuckled. "Don't lose your job on my account. That would be a _cat-tastro –_ I mean, that would be awful."

Marinette froze, her eyes widened at Adrien whose eyes had also gone just as wide. Within the blink of an eye, Adrien had composed himself as if nothing had just happened, leaving Marinette to doubt what she had just heard and experienced. Was Adrien…about to make some sort of cat pun? No, surely not. Why would he do something like that. The way he was behaving…it strangely reminded Marinette of Chat Noir. Or maybe Marinette's dreams were making her crazy and associate one of them with the other. She had referred to Chat Noir as an Agreste in her dream last night which was weird. She must just be getting confused, especially in her tired state.

The thought of Chat Noir also sent her heart racing. The memories of the previous night came flooding back into her mind as if a carefully constructed dam had just burst, allowing the thoughts to come crashing to the forefront of her brain. He had been so amazing with her that night. The fact that he had come to check on her. The fact that he had stayed with her and comforted her while she was absolutely terrified. Why had he done all of that for her? He didn't need to. He was so kind. So selfless. So amazing.

Marinette blinked, her thoughts drifting dangerously down an avenue that she had hoped to never revisit. She was so sure that she had put all of these feelings away and that they had disappeared for good. What was Chat Noir doing to her? Just as she had managed to start to forget everything that had happened between them and all of these weird feelings she had towards him. Now he had come back and reignited that strange fire deep within herself. It burned at her very core and she automatically found her mind wondering back to that night they kissed. The soft feeling of his lips pressed against hers. The way they had melded so perfectly together like two missing pieces of a puzzle.

NO!

No no no no! _Stop right there,_ Marinette internally yelled at herself. _I do not have feelings for Chat Noir, I do not have feelings for Chat Noir, I do not have feelings for Chat Noir,_ she repeated in her head over and over again, hoping that the message would finally sink in with her brain.

"Are you okay?" Adrien's concerned voice brought her back down to reality.

"Y-yeah." Marinette squeaked out.

"You kinda spaced out a little bit there."

"Did I? I'm so sorry!" Marinette gasped.

Adrien chuckled. "Hey, don't get so worried about it. I know how tired you are."

"You do?" Marinette shot him a confused look.

Adrien looked away and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, I heard off Alya, and you've said so yourself that you haven't been sleeping that well lately."

"Oh." Marinette bit her lip, fighting off the image of Chat Noir that was trying to claw its way to the front and centre of her mind. How could she be thinking like this when she was sat next to the love of her life? She was practically cheating on Adrien again! She was such a terrible person for feeling this way. What was she even feeling? Marinette wasn't too sure and that frightened her even more. Was this kind of thing normal? Marinette always thought that these emotions could only be aimed towards one person. That love for one person could never be shaken. _Love._ She didn't _love_ Chat Noir. Of course she didn't. Well…she loved him as a friend, but not in… _that way._ Right?

"Anyway," Adrien interrupted her thoughts again, "You seem to know a lot about me, but I barely know anything about you."

"Huh?"

"Well," Adrien's cheeks turned pink as he looked away awkwardly, "You are my friend, yet I don't really actually know that much about you."

Marinette shrugged. "I'm not really that interesting."

Adrien scoffed. "I seriously doubt that. Like…what's your favourite colour?"

"Pink." Marinette giggled.

"I guess that should have been obvious." Adrien laughed. "Favourite music?"

"Jagged Stone, hands down."

"No way, me too." Adrien smiled excitedly. "I mean, I heard you designed the cover of one of his albums – which was awesome by the way – but I had no idea he was your favourite singer."

"I've always loved his music. I really don't like that XY guy who knocks him off the top spot in the charts occasionally."

Adrien scrunched his nose up in disgust. "Me neither." He smiled again. "Are there any other hobbies you like to do other than designing?"

"I love to play video games, though unfortunately I haven't really had much time to play lately."

"Same." Adrien sighed. "To be honest, I haven't been sleeping too well either so I'm usually too exhausted to sit down and play."

"Another thing we have in common then it seems." Marinette smiled softly at him, noting the dark bruises that he too was sporting under his eyes. She wondered what could be keeping Adrien up at night? She hoped that he was okay. Was he having problems with his father again? It pained Marinette so much that Adrien didn't have a happy home to go back to. Materially, Adrien had everything that anyone could ever want. Anything and everything except love and affection. It made Marinette feel extremely grateful to have such amazing parents. No matter how weirdly they had been acting lately, she always felt loved, well protected and looked after. She was so lucky. They had been there for her when she had fallen, looked after her when she was sick and gave her so much love and support. To think that Adrien didn't have that squeezed painfully at Marinette's heart.

Deep in her thoughts, Marinette had barely noticed that they were automatically moving closer to each other again. Once again, it was like Adrien was a giant magnet while she was a small, humble piece of iron being pulled towards him by a powerful force beyond her control. Drifting closer and closer, Chat Noir's face once again appeared in Marinette's mind, his glowing, green, cat-like eyes burning into her very soul. Guilt sliced through Marinette's chest like a sharp, powerful sword and the force nearly caused her to freeze and pull back. No! She wanted this! She wanted Adrien! This was it! This was everything she had ever wanted. His lips were so close to pressing against hers…

 _Diiiinnnnnnnngggggg!_

The loud shrill of the school bell caused them both to jump backwards and away from each other in alarm. Marinette glared at the ceiling, cursing the horrible timing of the school bell signalling it was time for the second period to start. Was fate just actively trying to stop Marinette's dreams from coming true? It sure felt like it. Then again…what if she had literally been saved by the bell? Had Adrien wanted to kiss her? What would he have done if Marinette had closed those last few centimetres of distance between them? Would he have pushed her away? Or by some fantastic miracle, would he have returned the kiss? What would Chat Noir have thought? _No!_

"I guess we better get to our next class." Marinette said too quickly, all but tossing her things into her backpack, accidentally hitting her kwami on the head with one of her textbooks. Tikki rubbed her head and glared up at her to which Marinette quickly shot her a subtle apologetic look before zipping her bag up.

"Marinette?" Adrien mumbled, slowly packing his things away, not taking his green eyes off her the entire time.

"Yeah?" Marinette squeaked, probably looking like a weird, awkward mess in that moment. Her heart felt like it was ready to fly out of her chest at any moment. Her palms were sweaty and Marinette just wanted to find a nice deep hole to bury her head in and never come out.

Adrien looked incredibly conflicted for a moment before he sighed and took her backpack off her, slinging it over his other shoulder and began leading them both towards the entrance. All the while, Marinette watched him curiously, waiting for him to respond.

Finally, Adrien looked down sadly and sighed. "Nothing."

* * *

 **Had to cut this chapter short as it was getting waaaay too long so I split it into the next upcoming chapter. It's funny seeing how much I've confused some of you with what's going on. But hey, it means I'm doing my job pretty well. I was actually worried that I was being** _ **too**_ **obvious sometimes with my hints and foreshadowing.**

 **On that note, feel free to let me what your thoughts are on this chapter and what might be going on. I'm so excited that things are picking up in this story now. This story actually wasn't originally meant to be this long, but it kinda got away from me a bit ahaha. See you guys soon.**


	27. A Mother's Secrets

**Hey! I hope you guys have had a nice week so far and that you're all doing well. Thank you so much for the awesome reviews on the previous chapter. Reading your theories is always interesting. Unfortunately, I can't comment on them, but I can't wait to see all of your reactions to when parts of your theories may be confirmed or disproven. Also thank you to people who have followed this story and added it to their favourites. It's stuff like this that keeps me writing.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Mother's Secrets**

Adrien collapsed onto his bed the instant he made it back home and into his bedroom. His mind whirled around as thoughts of Marinette suffocated him. He had been so stupid and careless in the library. He had nearly kissed her! Her lips had called to him irresistibly and he was instantly under her spell. Not thinking, he had instinctively leaned in, craving to once again capture her lips with his own. To sample her sweet, delectable taste over and over again. Then he was literally saved by the bell. Part of him was devastated. There was nothing he wanted more than to claim her lips. But he needed to take this slow. Marinette likely would have freaked out if he just suddenly kissed her out of nowhere. Then his plan would be over. Marinette would be disgusted with him and would never want to talk to him again.

Letting out a melancholic sigh, Adrien stared up at the ceiling, his eyes drooping slightly as all he could think about was Marinette. She was so beautiful, even when she was wearing her clothes the wrong way around. She was so funny and there was never a dull moment with her. The girl was definitely no stranger to disaster and embarrassing herself, but that just made her all the more endearing to him. It seemed they even had a lot of things in common. How had it taken him this long to pay attention to her? To realise that she was indeed Ladybug, sitting behind him in class this whole time. It all seemed so obvious now and Adrien wanted to slap himself.

His plan was becoming almost unbearable. The urge to just scoop her into his arms and kiss her just kept intensifying, taking every ounce of his control. He had nearly caved while they were in the library together. He had very nearly just told her everything there and then. That he loved her. That he was Chat Noir. That he knew she was Ladybug. But it wasn't the right place. It wasn't the right time. He needed Marinette to fall in love with both Adrien and Chat Noir first. Then he could let hints of his identity slip and let her figure it out for herself. Then they could both live happily ever after.

Plagg nosily munching on his camembert brought Adrien out of his daydreaming. Ever since he had that dream of that creature, Plagg had been unusually quiet. When Adrien had asked him about the creature, Plagg just said it seemed like his theory was right: that someone or something was psychically invading Marinette's mind and that Adrien had just got caught up in it because he was sleeping in the same room as her. Plagg wasn't sure what this thing was, what it wanted with Marinette, nor did he know who that strange woman on the mountain was. Adrien had never seen Plagg so spooked.

"Plagg?"

The black kwami said nothing. Only his ear twitched at the sound of Adrien's voice as he continued scoffing down his favourite cheese.

"That vision I had…of mom and…Nina." Adrien spoke slowly as his own mind struggled to process the whole thing. "Do you think that was real?"

Plagg swallowed the rest of his cheese whole before turning around to face Adrien. "I don't know, kid. I didn't know your mother so I have no idea. It could be true, and it could also not be true."

"But…why would I dream of such a thing?"

"I don't know." Plagg sighed. "Obviously the creature was trying to communicate _something_ to you. What that is, I don't know. It was obvious that dream was especially formulated for you, whether it was true or not."

Adrien sat up, frowning in deep thought. "It just doesn't make any sense though. Why would the creature show me something that allegedly involves my mother's past?"

"I'd take it with a pinch of salt, Adrien." Plagg shrugged.

Adrien remained silent as he continued to frown and stare off into space. He thought he had known his mother. She had never really spoken about her past, but Adrien had never really thought much of it. His mother was always such a sweet, kind and caring person. It was usually just the two of them against the world as his father was always busy working. Now Adrien was starting to feel like he had been living in a bubble his whole life. A bubble that felt like it was about to burst. Because what if his mother had been friends with Nina when she was a child? He had already recently found out that she was his father's rival and now there was the prospect of this. Why had his parents kept all of this from him?

Pulling out his phone from his pocket, Adrien switched on the screen and stared down at the warm, green eyes of his mother. Her golden blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and a happy, contented smile on her face as she stared at the camera. Her eyes – his eyes – held so many secrets as they looked directly at him. If Nina had been his mother's friend, then what was wrong with that? Why would there be a need to a hide that fact? Or was Adrien just being paranoid and overthinking things? He must have had that dream for a reason. The creature had wanted him to see that scene, but why? It wasn't malicious. It didn't turn him against his mother. In fact, he was proud that she had stuck up for someone when they were being bullied. So what was the intend behind it?

Adrien needed answers.

With this newfound determination, Adrien slipped his phone back into his pocket, got up and marched towards his door. Plagg instantly looked up from his next round of cheese before flying next to Adrien, following him as he left his room and began cautiously making his way down the corridor, making sure to be extra careful while sneaking past his father's office.

"Hey, kid, what gives?" Plagg asked. "I was in the middle of a rendezvous with my beloved cheese."

"The cheese will have to wait, buddy. I need answers." Adrien replied before stopping outside a door in a section of the mansion that looked like it had barely been touched in years. It was slightly dusty, but still otherwise fairly well-maintained.

Adrien briefly looked back down the corridor, the door of his father's office just slightly visible in the distance before he looked back at the giant, white double doors in front of him. The once shiny purple trim of the door was now slightly faded along with the butterfly patterns that decorated the corners. The butterfly pattern that seemed to adorn nearly every inch of the mansion, the logo of his father's company.

"Oooh, are we going snooping?" Plagg asked, suddenly very interested.

Those words caused Adrien to frown as he looked down to stare at the golden handles. Slowly, he reached down and jiggled the door handles. Locked. Of course. Why would Adrien have expected anything different? It was likely his father kept that room locked, letting it act as a time capsule, a bleak monument of when his mother had last used her office. Adrien sighed in defeat. He had no idea where the key would be and he wasn't about to risk getting into trouble looking for it. His father would likely explode at him if he got caught.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Adrien mumbled to Plagg, turning to lean his back against the door.

"Nonsense, a little locked door is no problem." Plagg boasted before he zoomed into the key hole and disappeared.

"Plagg, no!" Adrien hissed, staring at the key hole with wide eyes.

Adrien heard a few mechanisms click before the door slowly and ominously creaked open, allowing the darkness inside the seep out. The thick and stale air of the room nearly choked Adrien and he hadn't even gone into the room yet.

Plagg reappeared in front of him grinning smugly. "Ta daa! You're welcome by the way."

Adrien couldn't bring himself to say a single word as his mouth remained agape and his eyes wide as saucers. His mother's office. He had never been allowed in here throughout all his life. It was his mother's private room and Adrien couldn't help but feel like a naughty child when he reached a hand out and pushed the door open some more. The air in the room was thick and damp, like an old attic that had remained untouched and abandoned for years. It was dark, only a few rays of light shone into the room from a slight gap in the drawn curtains on the huge window.

Being as quiet as possible, Adrien shut the door behind him, surrounding himself in even more darkness. Reaching behind him, Adrien felt along the wall before his hand managed to locate a light switch and he flicked it on. The chandelier above him filled the room with light, though it flickered slightly at first, before glowing dimly. The chandelier was rather beautiful. It was silver and decorated with tiny silver butterflies. Adrien then looked around more of the room in awe. It was large, much bigger than his father's office. Plagg too looked around curiously as he moved back to float next to Adrien.

The floor was made of painted white wooden floorboards while the walls were painted lilac. The curtains were a much deeper and darker purple, blocking out much of the light from outside. The rest of the details of the office were rather shocking to Adrien and not what he had expected. The whole room was in a mess, like it had been left in a hurry or someone had got into the room and rifled through her things. The thought of the latter possibility had Adrien slightly angry before he reminded himself that he was literally about to do that same thing. A large family portrait hung the wall next to the window, but it was the wall next to him that caught Adrien's attention. It was covered in maps of China, some more detailed that others. Pins had been placed on certain locations while some areas had been circled with pen of pencil. Some circles had crosses through them and most of the editing of the maps had been done over the province of Tibet.

Adrien frowned in confusion as he studied them. What had his mother so fascinated with Tibet? A lot of the areas his mother had circled looked like very remote areas. There was nothing of significance there, just a blank patch of land. Clearly, he wasn't going to get any answers by just standing there and studying the maps. If anything, the maps were just raising even more questions. Instead, Adrien turned his attention towards his mother's large, dark wood desk that sat in the centre of the room. There were the usual things he expected to see such as a photo of himself when he was younger as well as a photo of his father. There were piles of paper work on her desk and Adrien decided to have a quick shuffle through of them. All of them seemed to be innocent and related to acting and modelling jobs. Contacts that had been left unsigned and letters that had been left unanswered. The sight was greatly saddening to Adrien and he felt tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of how his mother had simply just disappeared. Seeing the evidence of this fact just made it feel even more real to Adrien.

Shaking his head in an attempt to get himself to focus again, Adrien realised that the answers he was seeking likely hadn't been left on top of her desk for the whole world to see. Looking down, Adrien noticed a large desk drawer that was locked. Bingo.

"Plagg, could you do the honours?" Adrien asked.

"No problem, this is getting good." Plagg chuckled before zooming into the key hole and disappearing, using his magic to unlock the drawer and allow Adrien inside.

The drawer popped open and Plagg flew out, taking his place by Adrien's head again as he looked at what was in the drawer over Adrien's shoulder. The drawer was full of random files, paper work, passports and all sorts of other documents. Adrien reached in and grabbed the first folder he could get his hands on. He pulled it out before sitting down on his mother's desk chair and opening the brown folder. Inside it was photos of landscapes Adrien did not recognise. A lot of them looked like some sort of temple which confused Adrien even more. He didn't know his mother had an interest in archelogy.

Adrien kept looking through, but most of it was pretty much the same apart from a few papers written in some weird language that Adrien had never seen before. It looked like one of them might have been a letter, but Adrien wasn't too sure as it was written in some sort of code.

"I've seen that writing somewhere before." Plagg squinted at it, deep in thought.

"Can you read it?" Adrien asked hopefully.

Plagg shook his head. "Nope. Beats me. I can't think properly on an empty stomach."

Adrien sighed and rolled his eyes before frowning and putting that stuff away. While rifling through the drawer again, a few photos caught Adrien's eye. He pulled them out, all of them framed in beautiful golden frames with complex designs carved into them. The glass on a few of them had smashed and cracked, but Adrien could still easily see what the photos were. Adrien smiled when he realised one of them was of his parents' wedding. He had never seen photos of their wedding day before. It looked like it had been an extravagant event in a cathedral. Adrien had never seen his father look so happy before. Instead of looking at the camera, he was looking at his new wife, beaming down at her, seemingly unable to take his eyes off her. His mother, meanwhile, beamed at the camera, looking radiant in her white wedding dress that made her look like the most beautiful princess.

Everything in the photo looked normal until Adrien looked slightly to the right of his mother and gasped. There, standing as his mother's head bridesmaid, dressed in an elegant purple dress that fell to her feet was Nina Couture. Her smile looked awkward and forced, and it wasn't enough to hide the sadness and the pain in her eyes that was able to be clearly captured by the camera and frozen in time forever. If his father had hated Nina so much, then what was she doing at their wedding? And as a bridesmaid?! Did…did this mean that his dream was true? That Nina and his mother had in fact been good friends with each other once upon a time?

Feeling his heart drop down into his stomach, Adrien looked at another photo. This one featured just his mother and Nina. They were both standing in the middle of a sunny day. His mother was hugging Nina tightly while Nina was dressed in university graduation robes, cheering as she held a diploma in the air. They both looked so happy. So close. Had something tore them apart? It was rather haunting to be looking at such a happy image, knowing in his gut that something might have happened between them.

Dazed, Adrien gently placed the photos down on the desk before pulling a battered looking scrap of paper out of the draw. Adrien unfolded it before reading.

 _Dearest Emilie,_

 _I hope my French is understandable to you. I can't risk sending this by email in case she intercepts it. I can't risk putting too much into this letter for that reason. I hear tales that she has an assistant helping her now. There are whispers among the other guardians that she is alive. I don't know if these rumours are true. But I don't want to take that chance. I hear my sister says she will meet you at the usual place to discuss things. She'll explain everything. Make sure you aren't followed. I couldn't bear it if she got hurt in all of this. After that, come back to China. Do not bring your husband or baby, it is too dangerous. Come alone. Follow the signs and you will find us._

 _Until then Apatura,  
_

 _Xing._

Adrien read the letter over and over again. Could…could this have been what led to his mother's disappearance? But wait…this Xing guy referred to his mother having a baby which Adrien could tell was obviously referring to him. And what was this _Apatura_ thing that Xing was talking about? Was it some sort of name? Some sort of codeword? Adrien was completely flummoxed. Maybe he was looking too much into it? Maybe this letter was just something completely innocent? Though deep down, Adrien seriously doubted that. The whole thing sounded like his mother was caught up in a very serious situation.

Adrien and Plagg exchanged a glance before Adrien went back to rifling through the draw again, accidentally knocking a passport and a piece of paper out of the drawer. Adrien frowned and reached down to pick them up before a certain word on the piece of paper caught his eye that was just sticking out from behind the passport.

 _Marinette._

Thinking he was seeing things, Adrien picked both of the documents up, first looking at the piece of paper and much to his confusion, it looked like a photocopy of a birth certificate. Sure enough, Adrien's eyes had not been deceiving him. It was a birth certificate of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"What?" Adrien gasped out loud. "Why would _this_ be in here?"

His mother had never known Marinette…at least...as far as he knew. What she doing with a copy of the birth certificate of the love of his life? Even Plagg was incredibly intrigued as he read the document over Adrien's shoulder, his green cat-like eyes widening as he did so. Everything was there on the birth certificate as normal. The date she was born, the time, the city and the names of her parents. Nothing about the document was out of the ordinary except for the fact that he'd found it in his mother's possession.

Confused and horrified, Adrien then turned his attention towards the passport. Is was the typical French, European Union child's passport and when Adrien opened it, he nearly dropped it. Air became caught in his throat as he realised that it was a passport for a baby Marinette. There was only one stamp inside from Chinese border officials. The passport looked fresh with hardly any marks or creases; clearly it had only been used this one time. Adrien looked back at the photo of Marinette as a baby and traced his fingers over the photo in confusion. What was his mother doing with this stuff?!

The sound of footsteps immediately caught Adrien's attention. They sounded like the heavy, well controlled footsteps of his father leaving his office further down the corridor. Adrien quickly scooped everything back into the drawer and slammed it shut before sprinting back towards the door in a panicked state. He lunged for the light switch, immediately shrouding the room in darkness once again. Trying to keep his breathing as quiet as possible, Adrien leaned against the wall next to the door, listening intently. The footsteps of his father stopped for one brief moment, creating an atmosphere of heavy silence where one could hear a pin drop. Sweat dripped down Adrien's brow and his heart thumped in his chest while he prayed for his father to keep walking in the opposite direction and not notice that something was wrong.

Finally, his father kept walking and Adrien soon heard his footsteps making their way down the marble staircase and into the main hall. Adrien let out a deep, shaky breath before sneaking as quietly as possible out of the room. After he had made it back into his own room, Adrien simply stood in the middle of his room, his eyes glossing over as he stared into space, millions of thoughts and feelings swirling around in his mind like a million tiny voices were suddenly screaming at him.

Plagg floated in front of him, looking at his holder with great concern. Adrien barely noticed though. His hands were shaking slightly by his side, his stare completely hollow and void of emotion as he became lost inside his own head.

"Errr, Adrien?" Plagg asked slowly and apprehensively. "Are…you alright?"

"I'm fine." Adrien's voice came out slightly higher than normal.

"Okay, that's good because –"

"Who the hell are my parents, Plagg?!" Adrien suddenly flew into a rage, pulling at his blond hair in frustration and fury. "Who have I been living with all these years?! Who is that man downstairs right now who I call 'father'?"

"Kid, you've had a nasty shock. Just take a deep b –"

"Why are they keeping all these secrets? I feel like I don't even know my own parents anymore! None of this is making any sense! I'm starting to feel like my whole life is just one big fat lie!" Adrien continued to scream.

"Adrien shush, your dad will hear you." Plagg pleaded.

"And what was my mother doing with Marinette's birth certificate and passport?! Was she some sort of creepy stalker this whole time?!" Adrien then gasped. " _Marinette!_ I forgot I have to go meet Ladybug for patrol!"

Adrien glanced at the clock and groaned. He should have met Ladybug fifteen minutes ago. She was probably frustrated with him right now, wondering where he was. And he had to see if she was alright. After everything he had just seen…he had to see if she was alright. Something was going on and Marinette was the main target. And she was alone right now. Standing in their usual meeting place, totally exposed. He had to get to her right now!

"Adrien, are you sure this is a good idea? The state you're in…I'm sure Ladybug would understand if you just called her?" Plagg offered.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien yelled, not paying attention to the worried words of his kwami.

Plagg sighed and accepted his fate, getting sucked into the ring in a burst of green light. Soon Chat Noir stood in Adrien's place and without hesitation, he extended his baton and leapt out of the open window. Chat Noir sprinted through the city, panting the whole time as it felt like his heart was about to leap right out of his throat in fear. His stomach twisted into painful knots, terrified of what was going on, desperate the see that Ladybug was okay. If anything ever happened to her, Chat Noir would never be able to live with himself.

Chat Noir sighed with relief slightly when Ladybug came into view. She was waiting in their usual spot, pacing across the roof top, checking her yo-yo every now and again while looking increasingly frustrated and worried. Chat Noir kept running, finally coming to a sudden stop when he crashed into a very startled Ladybug, enclosing his arms around her like a protective cage, shielding her from the world around them. Ladybug's muffled voice came from his chest, but Chat Noir didn't pay attention as he hugged her tightly to him, thankful that she was okay.

" _I…ann't…reeaathheee!"_

Chat Noir gasped and released his tight grip on her, allowing her to pull away slightly and breathe, but he made sure to keep his hands on her shoulders, desperate to never let go of her. Ladybug barely seemed to notice as she clutched her knees, leaning forward as she took in big gulps of air while her eyes remained wide in surprise and confusion.

"I'm so sorry, Ladybug!" Chat apologised, his voice shaking with panic.

"What the hell, Chat?!" Ladybug scolded. "What's gotten into you?" She turned around to glare at him but immediately gasped, her glare faltering as she caught sight of Chat Noir's face. She slowly raised herself up, her breathing returning to normal before she placed a hand on Chat's shoulder.

"Chat what's the matter? You're as white as a sheet. Come on, sit down." Ladybug pulled them both down, Chat obediently letting her do so, feeling slightly sick as the weight of what he had just discovered came crashing down on him. He wanted to tell her. He _should_ tell her. But at the same time, he shouldn't. To tell her would be to confess that he knew her identity and in turn expose his own. Also, there was no proof that his mother's intentions with that stuff had been malicious. There still could be a perfectly logical and innocent explanation to all of this. This stuff didn't necessarily mean that Ladybug was in danger.

"I…I've started having dreams too!" Chat blurted out. Well, that wasn't technically lying her to her. That was something that had him extremely worried and it had now been proven to be some sort of vision from the creature because of the photos he had found.

"W-what?" Ladybug gasped, turning pale.

"I'm sorry, Ladybug." Chat explained in a frightened rush. "I just got so scared and worried about you."

"It's fine, Chat." Ladybug pulled him into a tight embrace, stroking his hair as he fought back tears and sobs that threatened to escape. He _hated_ lying to her like this. He felt sick. He felt disgusted with himself. But what else could he do? He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Chat Noir felt unworthy to be in Ladybug's arms right now. Unworthy to be comforted by her like this. She probably wouldn't be doing this if she knew the truth. Oh what a tangled web he had woven. And it looked like things were only going to get worse.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ladybug offered, pulling back slightly so they could look at each other.

"Well, I saw this creature." Chat began and Ladybug cringed at the mention of it. "Then I was on a mountain in the snow, just like you said, and I think I saw the same woman as you, covered in blood and she was shouting and screaming. Then, I don't know how, but I think the creature showed me a vision of the past."

"The past? Why would it do that?"

"I don't know." Chat let out a shaky sigh. "My kwami seems to think that these aren't dreams. That someone is psychically calling to us from somewhere and showing us these things for reasons even he does not understand."

"That's an interesting theory." Ladybug mumbled lowly before speaking up. "I'll talk to my own kwami about it and see what she thinks."

Chat Noir frowned. "Maybe we should go and see Master Fu."

"Out of the question." Marinette shook her head. "My kwami has banned me from speaking to Master Fu about this."

"But why? That seems a tad bit redundant."

"I know." Ladybug took an exasperated deep breath. "But she says it has something to do with not brining up something from Master Fu's past that might upset him."

"To hell with that at this point! Something serious is going on!" Chat Noir growled, making Ladybug jump slightly.

"I know, it's just…I don't like to disobey. I'm sure we can find a way out of this ourselves."

Chat groaned in annoyance, but he knew there was no point in arguing with her so he decided to give up and go along with it, no matter how much he disagreed. He did have faith that him and his lady would be able to figure out what was going on, but still, a little help from Master Fu couldn't have hurt. Especially with how dangerous this creature that was after them seemed to be. Maybe Ladybug would come around to the idea of seeing Master Fu eventually.

"If what your kwami says is true," Ladybug mused, "Then that means there's someone or something out there that's after us."

"Are they after our miraculous?" Chat pondered.

"I don't know. Why go through all this trouble though by invading our dreams? How are they going to get our miraculous that way?"

"Too many questions, not enough answers." Chat huffed, staring out into the horizon with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey," Ladybug cupped his cheek gently, sending a shiver down Chat's spine, "We'll figure this out. You and I are an unstoppable team, remember?"

Chat Noir smiled. "We sure are, my lady."

Patrol for the most part was quiet. They discussed their dreams though Chat Noir was starting to get a sense that Ladybug might be hiding something from him. She seemed to be on the evasive side with certain issues and details. The thought angered Chat Noir slightly, but then he remembered he had no proof that Ladybug was doing that and that he was doing the exact same thing. He would have to figure out why his mother had that stuff on Marinette by himself. He would have to try and sneak back into her office at some point, hopefully the next time his father left so he would be less likely to be interrupted.

In the end, they decided it would be best to keep a look out for any suspicious activity at the Mayor's ball tomorrow night. Ladybug had hated the idea of using that event as bait given the amount of innocent people that would be there, but Chat Noir reassured her of his doubt over whoever was behind it launching an attack. If they did show up, they would likely just show up to watch their every move. However, the both of them were still uneasy.

When patrol ended, Chat Noir grabbed Ladybug's hand to kiss her goodbye and, much to his surprise and joy, she had let him. Maybe he really was making progress with her. Or maybe after what had happened earlier, she just felt sorry for him. Chat Noir decided to pretend it was the former, just to give him some momentary joy on an otherwise draining and terrifying day. He had watched her leave, feeling a tugging sensation as she did so, begging him to follow her. Unfortunately, he couldn't visit her as Chat Noir yet. He needed to go home and say goodnight to his father at home for appearances sake. Then after that, he could transform again and keep an eye on Marinette throughout the night, just in case anything else happened.

With his plan confirmed in his mind, Chat Noir set off back home, expertly gliding through his window before de-transforming and collapsing onto his bed just as the sun was setting over the city of Paris. Plagg remained unusually quiet again, stuffing his face with cheese at the other side of Adrien's room. It had been a very long day and Adrien decided to rest his drooping eyes for a few moments. The tugging sensation on his chest kept begging him to go back to be with Marinette, but Adrien reassured it that he would be with Marinette again soon. Maybe he wouldn't get to spend actual time with her, but still, he needed to make sure that she was safe and stayed safe throughout the night.

"I don't know how you can believe in all this stuff, Nina." A familiar voice laughed.

Adrien gasped and his eyes shot open. He was no longer in his bedroom, but instead, an unfamiliar apartment that looked pretty fancy. It was open spaced and had a beautiful view of the city centre, complete with Eiffel Tower in the background. The day was cloudy, but the large room around him still received plenty of light, revealing two very familiar women in front of him.

His mother was sat on the sofa, lounging around lazily as the quiet sound of the television filled the whole room with background noise. Nina was sat on the floor, resting against the coffee table in front of the sofa, deeply engrossed in a book.

"Magical powers and strange creatures." His mother continued to laugh.

"You may laugh, Emilie, but these legends are actually pretty interesting. You should try reading a book sometime. All that knowledge might make your head even bigger." Nina laughed.

His mother gasped before grabbing a cushion and playfully throwing it at her.

"Is this the thanks I get!?" His mother wailed dramatically. "I pay for us both to live here, I helped pay you through university and now I'm paying for us both to go on a trip to China and all you do is insult me?"

"Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Nina chuckled, placing her book down. "I really do appreciate it though and I'll pay you back one day when I get rich too. I've already started my fashion business. I just need to get exposure." Nina gasped. "Wait a minute." Nina placed her thumbs and forefingers together, creating a tiny little screen for herself as she stared at a perplexed Emilie.

"That's it!"

His mother giggled. "What's it?"

"It's perfect! You're already a model and aspiring actress; you could work for my company! You could model all my clothes and star in my commercials. A pretty face like yours is bound to get me the exposure I need to make it big!"

"Nina, you don't have to –"

"It'll be perfect! Best friends together!"

His mother smiled. "Well, if you insist."

"And this trip to China is where I'm going to find my inspiration." Nina proclaimed excitedly, smiling back down at the book of legends she was reading.

"Whatever you say," Emilie laughed, "I must admit, China isn't exactly the highest country on my bucket list to visit."

"Oh come on, Emilie, lighten up." Nina threw the cushion back at her. "Who knows, you might even enjoy the trip. And, dare I say it, you might even find it…miraculous."

The giggles of the two women faded out as darkness began to surround a confused and startled Adrien. He looked around in desperation before gasping, his heart thudding erratically in his chest as he caught sight of something he had desperately not wanted to see. The creature stood a few feet away from him, doing nothing except staring at him, watching his every move carefully. All Adrien could do was stare back in horror.

"I don't understand." Adrien finally forced himself to speak. "Why are you showing me all of this?!"

The creature then reached both arms out towards him, almost looking like it was begging and pleading with him. It inched closer and closer, floating towards him slowly as if some strong force was trying to hold it back. Each movement towards him looked incredibly arduous and painful. Adrien remained frozen in place, trembling as the creature continued to reach out until Adrien could feel the coldness radiating off it's distorted hand.

Then Adrien woke up screaming.

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 **Well well well, what do you make of that chapter guys? I would love to know your thoughts and theories in a review. Reviews keep me inspired to keep writing. They really help me out and I'm always grateful for any feedback. Take care and I'll see you soon.**


	28. Enigma

**What time is it? It's update time! I hope that everybody has had a lovely weekend. Thank you so much for the amazing reviews on the previous chapter guys. The confusion seems never ending. Which means I've done my job pretty well. But don't worry my dear readers, you shall have your answers soon. Also thank you to everyone who has followed this story and added it to their favourites. This story is now at 200 followers which is awesome! Thank you so much!**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Eight: Enigma**

Marinette stared at herself in the mirror in her bedroom, her half-lidded eyes locked on the hand shaped bruises on her upper arms. Once again she had another dream about that creature. It had grabbed her by the arms, staring intently at her, gargling and screaming at her, tightening its grip as Marinette had tried to break free of its grasp. Luckily, she had soon been awakened by the sun shining on her face, signalling a new day. The day where she finally started her work experience. And she was already off to a fantastic start.

Examining herself in the mirror even more, Marinette groaned at the sight of the dark shadows under her eyes that were red and bloodshot. She was a little on the paler side too, looking like she hadn't got a decent night sleep in weeks. Which was true. Marinette was really starting to feel completely and utterly exhausted, unable to remain focused and living in constant fear of falling asleep. How Marinette hadn't collapsed yet, she had no idea. It was all starting to get too much. She was at a complete loss over what to do. How was she supposed to fight something that seemed to only exist in her dreams? What exactly was that thing? And what did it want with her? All the questions buzzing around her mind nearly had her stumbling slightly as she began to feel dizzy.

Tikki hovered uneasily next to her, staring at Marinette's bruises nervously before quickly looking away again as Marinette caught sight of her little kwami staring. Marinette frowned at her, growing more and more frustrated with the red kwami for not allowing her to do the only thing she could think of in this situation. They had discussed in length last night, before she had passed out, the information that Chat Noir had relayed to her from his own kwami. What Chat Noir had said did make sense. It would certainly explain why Marinette was waking up with injuries she had received in her nightmares. Even more frightening was the fact that Chat Noir was now having these dreams too. Tikki had no idea how to explain what was going on. All Tikki knew was that this went much further than what happened to the previous cat and ladybug miraculous holders. This was more than some bad omen.

All Tikki could think of to do other than visit Master Fu, was to wait and see what happened. Marinette had been speechless over that response. She couldn't help but feel like her kwami was carelessly placing all of them in danger. Marinette couldn't help but feel like Tikki didn't really care for her. Her words to Chat Noir last night, about them figuring things out together, was more for her own reassurance than Chat's. Truthfully, Marinette had never felt so scared. Akumas was something she was used to. She knew how to handle them. Hawkmoth was a little more tricky, but at least he was somewhat understandable. He was after the miraculous for absolute power and the wish it would grant him. But this…Marinette didn't even know where to begin.

With a sigh, Marinette quickly shook her head and carried on getting ready for the day. Marinette wasn't too sure what she was supposed to wear. Nina hadn't mentioned any particular dress code. To be on the safe side, Marinette decided to dress smartly in a black, formal dress she had designed and made herself. It was modest and simple, falling to her knees with a large, black belt around her stomach. The dress had short sleeves which thankfully just about covered the bruises on Marinette's arms. Nodding to herself, happy with her handy work, Marinette slipped on some black flats and grabbed her pink purse which clashed slightly with her outfit. There would be no time to rectify that problem though, plus, this was the purse that Tikki was used to hiding in.

Thanks to Marinette's rough night, she was running slightly late. Luckily, the journey would be made on time as Ladybug. Marinette summoned Tikki to transform her and soon she was gliding through the city. It would be best this way for her parents' sake too. If she had left the normal way, they likely would have asked questions and Marinette was a lousy liar, barely able to think of excuses to hide her double life as Paris' beloved superhero. So hiding the fact that she was defying her parents by going to this work placement would cause Marinette to sweat buckets and stumble over her words, allowing her parents to easily catch on to the fact that something was going on. They would be busy in the bakery today, so at least this way, she would be out and back home again before they had time to notice. She just hoped that Nina wouldn't work her too late today.

The breeze in Ladybug's hair felt nice as she weaved in and out of city buildings, using her yo-yo to fly above everyone. People gasped, shouted and waved at her and Ladybug did her best to respond in her distracted state. Soon enough, she arrived near Nina's main headquarters. The building towered ominously over Ladybug, causing her to gulp nervously as butterflies began fluttering around in her stomach. Ladybug quickly landed in a nearby alley and transformed back into Marinette.

"Are you sure about this, Marinette?" Tikki asked as she steadied herself after flying out of Marinette's earrings. "You're deceiving your parents."

"I know I know, we've already talked about this, Tikki." Marinette huffed. "For once I want to do something for me. I want to seize this opportunity and make something of myself. I've always dreamed about being a fashion designer…I thought my parents had always understood that." Marinette glanced down sadly.

Tikki sighed. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Well I don't." Marinette frowned. "Nina has been so kind to offer this opportunity to me and I'm not going to let her down."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Tikki murmured before flying back into Marinette's purse.

Once Tikki was safely tucked away, Marinette casually walked out of the ally to join a crowd of pedestrians. She bit her lip as she once again looked up at the massive building and her nerves only grew worse the closer and closer she got. The fancy entrance never ceased to intimidate her and Marinette once again felt like she was way out of her league being there. Upon entering, Marinette was greeted by the overwhelming scent of perfume from the store on the main floor. It almost choked her, but Marinette pressed her lips into a tight line, making sure to walk as confidently and professionally as she could. Marinette felt incredibly self-conscious among the obviously rich customers and the talented designers.

The same receptionist was working the main desk and Marinette forced herself to repress a groan as she walked towards her. The woman was leaning back in her desk chair, her lips pursed slightly as she filed her nails, not paying attention to the world around her. Marinette reached the desk, awkwardly waiting for the woman to look up and notice that she was there. But she didn't. Instead, the woman continued filing her nails and Marinette could feel her stomach sinking lower and lower.

"Excuse me?" Marinette asked timidly.

The woman sighed, finally looking up. "Oh. _You_ again."

"Errrr, yeah…" Marinette tried to hold her nerve. "Nina told me to come here today for the work experience placement."

"What did you just say?" The woman narrowed her eyes.

"I…what?"

"Did you seriously just address the legendary Miss Couture as _Nina_?" The woman looked completely outraged and Marinette began panicking.

"But…but she told me to just call her Nina." Marinette rushed to explain, wondering if she'd made a mistake and misheard Nina that day. Oh no! Now she was going to get kicked out and fired for being so disrespectful. _Uhhh_ , Marinette had barely walked through the door and she had already managed to blow it. She'd completely messed up this once in a lifetime opportunity and now she would never be able to work for a big fashion company if they knew she treated her boss with such unprofessional familiarity.

"I seriously doubt she would be on first name basis with someone like _you._ " The receptionist sneered and Marinette fought back tears of embarrassment and anger. She wanted to snap at this woman and defend herself, but she wasn't sure if that would be the right thing to do. If anything, it would likely just make the situation even worse.

"Aelicia!" A voice shouted from a few feet away, making both Marinette and the receptionist jump.

Marinette turned towards the source of the voice to see Nina storming towards them, her angry glare directed at the woman behind the desk who was now trembling slightly, eyes wide with fear. Marinette also found herself startled and slightly fearful of the thunderous expression on Nina's face. Nina stopped next to Marinette, raising an eyebrow at the receptionist.

"Is there a problem here?" Nina asked.

"N-no, madam." The receptionist responded, all her bravado gone.

"Is Aelicia bothering you, Marinette?" Nina turned to a frozen Marinette. "Would you like me to _deal_ with her?"

"B-but, madam, she was very disrespectful." Aelicia tried to protest.

"Aelicia, there is a very unstable job market out there right now, and you certainly won't be getting a reference from me if you carry on intimidating and offending valued members of the team." Nina threatened darkly, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulder.

"I-I'm, sorry madam." Aelicia stuttered her apology.

"Don't apologise to me," Nina snapped, "Apologise to Marinette. This girl will be one of the greatest fashion designers one day and you'll look back on this moment in shame."

Aelicia gulped. "S-sorry, Marinette."

Nina smiled, her voice becoming friendly again as if nothing had happened. "There. All better. Come now, Marinette."

Nina kept her hand tightly on Marinette's shoulder, guiding her through the large crowds of customers and towards the elevator Marinette remembered taking last time. Marinette obediently walked forward, letting Nina guide her while she remained in a state of complete shock. The way Nina had turned like that was pretty unnerving. Marinette made a mental note not to get on her bad side. Trying to keep her nerves under control, Marinette stepped into the elevator with Nina, feeling even more intimidated as the doors closed, leaving Marinette all alone with the famous fashion designer. Nina said nothing and Marinette risked peeking at her under her eyelashes. Nina had an almost ghostly look on her face as she stared straight ahead of her. Her dazzling blue eyes remained unblinking and she looked slightly uncomfortable. As if she was feeling as nervous as Marinette was.

The elevator doors opened again and Nina lead Marinette out, guiding her towards her office. Marinette was feeling very much like a lost, obedient child in this situation. Nina finally let go of her once they entered her lavish office. Nina carried on walking towards her desk while Marinette remained still, ready to be assigned her first task. She wasn't too sure why Nina had led her up here; Marinette thought that she would be put straight to work with the other designers. Feeling even more nervous, Marinette twiddled her fingers while Nina sat down at her desk before she looked up at Marinette in confusion.

"Aren't you going to come and sit down?" Nina gestured to the desk chair next to her.

Marinette frowned, perplexed. "A-aren't you going to put me to work with the other designers?"

Nina's eyes widened before she giggled. "The other designers? Oh no, my dear, you'll be working with me."

"W-with y-you?" Marinette felt like she might faint.

"Yes, silly, someone like you shouldn't be working downstairs. I'm going to personally mentor you." Nina explained.

"O-okay." Marinette struggled to contain her nerves and excitement that were threatening to burst out of her stomach and leave her as nothing more than a messy puddle on the floor. Her legs felt like they were made of jelly as she stumbled towards Nina's desk, wobbling this way and that, her excitement making her feel lighter than air. This was more than she could have ever possibly dreamed. Why was Nina doing this for her? She was sure Nina was a very busy woman, so why would she take all this time to personally mentor a student like her? Marinette was always proud of her work, but was it really good enough for the likes of Nina Couture?

Marinette reached the desk, all but collapsing into the chair, sitting perfectly straight while nervously clasping her hands together, unsure of what to do next. Nina smiled and rolled her eyes before grabbing hold of Marinette's chair and pulled it closer towards her so that they were both sat behind the desk. Nina froze for a moment as she looked down at Marinette, her eyes sparkling with an emotion that Marinette couldn't quite place. As soon as it had appeared, it had gone, and Nina turned back towards the work on her desk, moving the papers so they were situated between both herself and Marinette.

"Here are some designs I've thought of for our autumn line." Nina explained, pointing to the designs on the paper. "I was wondering if you think there's anything that needs to be added or taken away."

Marinette gasped. Nina was asking _Marinette_ to edit her work for her? Marinette was having trouble breathing at that thought. Containing her fangirl squeals was becoming nearly impossible and Marinette bounced her knees in an attempt to regain some composure and control over herself. She took the papers off Nina and began looking at the designs. They were all amazing! Marinette couldn't get over the fact that she was holding Nina Couture's actual designs in her hands. She couldn't wait to tell Alya about all of this.

"By the way," Nina interrupted her thoughts, "How did it go with Adrien the other day?"

Marinette froze, shocked that Nina had remembered those events. Immediately, Marinette's cheeks went bright red and she shuffled in her seat nervously. "Errr, it went, okay? We didn't get to talk long as his dad interrupted us."

"Typical Gabriel." Nina rolled her eyes and laughed. "He was always known for his impeccable timing."

Marinette sighed. "I just can't stop making a fool of myself around him."

Nina's smile faded, turning into a sympathetic look before she reached her hand out and placed it on Marinette's shoulder in comfort. Despite Nina's touch sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine, Marinette was grateful for the comfort. It was nice to finally talk to someone about Adrien who properly listened and demonstrated understanding. Alya, while being Marinette's best friend who she loved dearly, wasn't the most comforting and reassuring when it came to her problems involving Adrien sometimes. Marinette was too shy and embarrassed to talk to anybody else about it, so she was often left feeling rather lonely and insecure over the whole thing.

Thinking about Adrien suddenly reminded Marinette of their conversation from yesterday. About how Adrien wished he knew what exactly it was about Nina that had his father hating her so much. Marinette couldn't deny that she was a little bit curious as well. Plus, Nina seemed okay with talking about Gabriel, so maybe now was the perfect time to do some subtle digging.

"How come you and Gabriel don't get along anyway?" Marinette innocently inquired.

Nina's eyes widened before she frowned and stared down at her desk. "It's complicated." She admitted at last.

"Is it just because you're rivals in the fashion industry?" Marinette asked.

"Well, no." Nina thought for a moment, seemingly deciding whether or not to explain things in more detail. "It's a little more complicated than that. We used to be… _friends._ But then we sort of…fell out. We became two completely different people and we just couldn't handle being in each other's presence any longer. We resented each other a lot and that just made for a very toxic relationship."

Marinette said nothing as she processed this information.

"Any particular reason you were wondering about that?" Nina raised her eyebrow.

"Not really," Marinette quickly lied, "I've been a fan of you and Gabriel for years and I don't remember ever reading why you guys disliked each other."

"Gabriel and I are both very private people."

"I see." Marinette replied quietly, looking back at her work, defeated. She guessed Adrien would have to wait for a proper explanation another time. It was a little frustrating, as that could have been a chance to get closer to Adrien by relaying information to him. "I'm not too sure about the bow on this dress."

"Mmm?" It sounded like Marinette had brought Nina out of a deep thought.

"The bow?" Marinette repeated shyly. "I'm not too sure about it…sorry."

"You don't have to apologise." Nina said, smiling. "The whole point of this was to get your opinion."

Nina took the design off Marinette and began making notes around the edges.

"So how long have you been into designing?" Nina asked, studying Marinette carefully, seeming very interested in whatever answer Marinette was about to give.

"All my life, honestly." Marinette thought hard. She honestly couldn't remember a time where she _wasn't_ into some form of designing or fashion. From a very young age, she had always possessed artistic talent and it was something she had always loved doing. Since she was a child, she had enjoyed helping her mother sew and knit. From there it just kept progressing. From the age of ten and onwards, Marinette had always designed and made her own clothes. She couldn't remember the last time she had worn something that she had bought from a store. Gabriel Agreste had always been a big inspiration from her. She could never afford his clothes and accessories, but Marinette didn't mind. She was always proud of the clothes she had made.

"What about you?" Marinette asked.

Nina chuckled. "All my life as well. I grew up in a very poor foster home, so all of my clothes were old hand-me-downs and I _hated_ it. I'd get bullied at school a lot because of it. I suppose that's what made me become obsessed with clothes and fashion. I wanted to make and wear nice things. I used to practice and make things with an old sewing kit I found at the back of a cupboard. I was lucky enough to get into university where I could study fashion properly."

"I had no idea." Marinette gasped, feeling sorry for Nina for having had such a rough start in life. But it gave Marinette hope and inspiration. If Nina could make it in the world, then hopefully Marinette could as well.

Nina smiled sadly before picking up the paper she had edited and walked to the other side of the room to organise some files. Marinette stared at Nina's glamourous form. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe Nina was lonely. Having no family certainly couldn't feel good. As much as her parents were creeping her out at the moment, Marinette couldn't imagine life without them. She loved them so dearly, so to live a life growing up the way Nina had must have been difficult. It made Marinette wonder what happened to Nina's parents. Were they dead? Did they abandon or neglect her? Marinette knew that if she had grown up like that, then she would definitely want to start a family of her own. At that thought, Marinette peaked at Nina's ring finger, but there was nothing there. Marinette found it hard to believe that a woman as beautiful as Nina didn't have men or women fawning over her.

"Are you married?" Marinette blurted out without thinking before clasping a hand over her traitor of a mouth.

Nina turned around, looking at Marinette in shock. "No, but you win the random question of the day award."

"I was just wondering…because you're really pretty. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong with Adrien." Marinette sighed. Marinette didn't consider herself ugly, she was fairly happy with the way she looked. It's just that she didn't conform to the beauty standards of today. Maybe that's why Adrien wasn't interested in her. He was used to be surrounded by gorgeous models with bright blonde hair. Nina was perfect and Marinette wished that she looked like her. They had similar eyes, but Nina was way more glamourous with her golden blonde hair and taller physic.

"Thank you," Nina beamed before frowning, "And you shouldn't put yourself down, Marinette, you're beautiful and I'm sure that Adrien can see that. And no," Nina laughed. "I'm not married."

"How come?" Did she enjoy her independence too much? Nina seemed more than fine with answering a lot of personal questions. Maybe this could help Marinette piece things together for Adrien to help reassure him that Nina wasn't some malicious creep who had just entered their lives. It might help them get the bottom of what was going on between her and Gabriel as well.

Nina shrugged. "I'm not exactly the best in the field of romance. Besides, a man would only get under my feet." She looked down and shuffled through some papers.

"So, I'm guessing you don't have children then?"

Nina froze, standing as still as a statue, pausing mid-way through lifting a piece of paper up to look at the sheet of paper underneath. Her blue eyes snapped up to look Marinette straight in the eye and Marinette found herself instantly freezing in place. Once again, she found herself hypnotised by Nina's blue orbs that seemed to have suddenly hardened into steel. All traces of her previous laughter had disappeared and her shoulders seemed to tense as if she was in some sort of pain.

"Too many questions." Nina scolded, her tone slightly dark.

Marinette gulped not knowing what to do or say. She'd pushed it too far. She'd pried too much, she could tell. Marinette had stupidly never considered that these types of personal questions might upset Nina. It was strange how the question about children was the only question that Nina seemed to take offense to. Could Nina not have children? Had she had children, but lost them? Marinette could feel herself shattering to a million pieces that fell the ground in small shards. Feelings of intense guilt overwhelmed her. She had probably greatly upset Nina now. Any second now, Nina would lose her temper and Marinette would lose her job – rightfully so.

Bowing her head, Marinette waited, ready to accept her fate. But nothing happened. The seconds ticked by and Marinette soon found herself slowly looking back up. Nina was casually reading something on a document as if nothing had just happened before she began walking back towards the desk and sat down. Marinette watched her out of the corner of her eye. Nina's face was completely smooth again, no traces of anger or pain were to be seen. Had Marinette just imagined the whole thing? Nina was truly an enigma.

"I-I'm sorry." Marinette stuttered. She didn't want to bring the subject back up again seen as it had made Nina so angry, but she couldn't just leave it without apologising. Marinette knew she had no right to be asking such personal questions and worst of all, one of them had clearly deeply upset Nina.

Nina didn't look up, remaining focused on her task. "It's fine."

Marinette took a deep breath before getting back on with her work. Nina remained silent the whole time and Marinette tried her best not to look at her. Instead of telling Nina, she just starting writing notes down around the designs herself. The silence between them remained incredibly uncomfortable. Once she had finished with her task, Marinette felt too awkward and scared to let Nina know that she was done. Nina seemed too engrossed with whatever it was she was reading anyway. Instead, Marinette's mind wandered to Adrien as was typical. She wondered what he was doing right now. But then her mind wandered to Chat Noir, images of his face seeping into the forefront of her mind, battling with Adrien for dominance.

No!

Marinette couldn't allow her thoughts to go down that disturbing avenue again. She'd messed with Chat Noir too much, she couldn't allow these feelings to get to her if she hoped never to hurt his feeling again. Adrien was all she wanted. So why did Chat Noir continue to invade her thoughts like he did? Why had she kissed him that one time? No no no no! _Stop right there, Marinette Dupain-Cheng,_ Marinette mentally scolded herself.

"What's the matter?" Nina asked, sounding concerned.

Shaking her head slightly, Marinette fell back down to reality and realised she had probably, and rather embarrassingly, been staring into space for some time. She must look incredibly weird to Nina right now. Marinette wanted to slap herself. This work experience placement really wasn't getting off to good start. She was honestly surprised that Nina hadn't fired her yet. She wasn't exactly being the best worker at the moment. Asking personal and offensive questions, being awkward and daydreaming. Totally employee of the month material.

"Nothing, sorry!" Marinette exclaimed, quickly rushing to explain. "Just – errrr – got daydreaming." Marinette laughed nervously.

Nina looked down at the work in front of Marinette. "If you'd finished your work, you should have just said so."

"I…sorry."

Nina sighed before laughing. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Don't worry, I understand." Marinette sighed before grabbing her bag and standing up.

Nina looked up at her a state of complete confusion. "What are you doing?"

"You're firing me, aren't you?"

Nina blinked before she burst into fits of laughter. Between a fit of giggles, she grabbed hold of Marinette's arm and pulled the startled girl back down into her seat. Marinette's eyes scanned the room erratically, once again not knowing what to do. She clutched at the strap of her bag, feeling lost, embarrassed and confused. Meanwhile, Nina took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. A few small giggles still escaped her lips and she wiped a tear from her eye.

"I'm not firing you!" Nina exclaimed, still looking incredibly amused. "What on earth gave you that idea?"

"I…I thought…" Marinette stuttered.

Nina giggled again. "Oh, you really are funny, Marinette."

"Errrr, thanks?"

"I can't fire someone with such amazing creative vision. You're the future Marinette. The future of this company." Nina explained happily.

"I-I don't understand?"

"I'd be happy to hire you once you've finished your education." Nina offered, beaming down at her.

"W-what?!" Marinette gasped, air getting caught in her throat as her lungs stopped working. Her heart came to a complete stop before re-starting itself at a pace that made it feel like Marinette just been running a marathon. This had to be a dream. There was no way this day was real. Not only had Marinette not blown her chances with her behaviour today, but Nina was now offering her a job when she finished school?! This couldn't be real. Just to be sure, Marinette pinched her wrist underneath the desk. Nope, she definitely wasn't dreaming. It felt like it was too good to be true.

"I'm serious." Nina said. "I can't let someone with your talent slip away. I mean, just look at these edits you've made. They're perfect! Though I must confess that I am slightly jealous that I never thought of them myself. Your talent would be wasted with _Gabriel Agreste_ , so what do you say?"

"I-I…wow…ummm…YES!" Marinette squealed, leaping forward to embrace Nina without thinking. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Nina froze for a split second before wrapping her arms around Marinette in return. She pressed her face into the top of Marinette's head and Marinette breathed in the sweet smell on Nina's perfume before her eyes snapped open, her excitement immediately vanishing as she realised what she had just done. Marinette gasped and the pulled away from the embrace, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment, feeling complete mortified over what she had just done. She really needed to keep her excitement in check. Luckily, Nina didn't seem to mind as she laughed, her blue eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Alright then, I'm glad I made you happy with that." Nina let out one last chuckle.

"Are you kidding me?" Marinette sighed dreamily. "This is a dream come true."

Marinette couldn't wait to tell everybody. Alya, Nino, Adrien…her parents. What would they make of this? They hadn't exactly been happy about her doing this work placement for whatever stupid reason they kept trying to use on her. They claimed they were worried about her school work. So would that eliminate the problem, knowing that Marinette had a job ready and waiting for her as soon as she finished? Surely her parents would be proud of her over that? Of course, this meant admitting that she had lied to them and had gone to work placement despite their wishes. But would finding out Marinette had bagged herself a job help diffuse that tension? Marinette hoped so, because there was no way she could keep this a secret. The news was too amazing.

For once, despite the constant threat of nightmares and her confusion over Chat Noir, Marinette finally felt like things were going right for her.

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 **Famous last words. I had to split this chapter into two as it ended up becoming way too long. This chapter gave me a lot of trouble so I hope that it's turned out okay. Writer's block is the worst. Anyway, feel free to let me know your opinions in a review. It really helps me out if you do take the time to let me know what you think. I'll see you guys again soon and I hope that you all have an amazing week.**


	29. Broken Friendships

**Welcome back! I'm really going to try and push to get this story finished now as we are in fact nearing the end. I looked at my plan and was like "whoa, we're here already?" But yeah, only just over ten or so chapters left, depending on if I can stick some together or whether some need to be split into two parts. I can't believe this story ended up being up so long, it actually wasn't meant to be. So, I'll be updating this story a little more regularly now.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for the awesome reviews! I really appreciate the help and the feedback. Also, thank you to the people who have added this story to their favourites and who have followed it. Your support means the world to me.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Nine: Broken Friendships**

"Hello?!" Adrien called out to the void he had been wandering for what felt like forever. There appeared to be nothing but an eternal darkness that surrounded him. His voice echoed in the vast nothingness, being carried in all directions for miles and miles. The air around him felt cold, to a point where Adrien was nearly shivering, clothed only in his typical black t-shirt with white shirt over the top. Plagg was no where to be seen either. He was completely alone.

Adrien's heart rate continued to rise, nearly hammering its way out of his chest as he panted slightly in fear, terrified that at any moment something was going to jump out at him from the darkness. He kept on walking, hoping that at some point the scenery around him would change. That at some point, he would see some semblance of light that would help guide him out of here. Adrien kept stumbling as he walked, unable to see his feet beneath him as the darkness disorientated him, messing with his equilibrium. After the fifth time of tripping over his own foot, Adrien decided to walk more slowly, not willing to risk becoming injured in a place like this.

After being alone in the silent darkness for so long, the sudden sound of birds chirping definitely caught his attention. It was so sudden and out of nowhere that it made Adrien jump and yelp slightly as the sound echoed around him. Did that mean there was a way out? Did that mean he wasn't alone in this awful place? The birds carried on chirping and Adrien followed the sound, determined to find the way out. The sound grew louder and louder, and soon Adrien could also hear a breeze ruffling the leaves of some trees. As Adrien began jogging forward, he could soon feel the breeze against his own skin, making the hairs on his arms stand up.

The endless darkness beneath Adrien's feet soon morphed into a stone pathway, surrounded by lush, green grass. Trees towered over him and the stone beneath him looked very old and worn, as if this pathway had been used by people for centuries. Startled, Adrien looked around, realising that he was no longer in a dark void. It appeared that he was standing on the side of a very remote mountain range. For miles and miles were nothing but an endless sea of mountains, not a single sign of any civilisation. The sky was blue with not one cloud in sight. The sun felt hot and intense on the back of his neck, causing little beads of sweat to form across his skin. There were some traces of stone ruins on the side of the pathway; clearly some people had been here before him.

It looked like Adrien's best bet was to follow the stone pathway further up the hill. As the incline grew steeper, the pathway morphed into stone steps where wet, slippery moss was growing in between the cracks of the stone, forcing Adrien to frustratingly take his time walking up them. As he rounded the corner, Adrien gasped as a huge ancient looking temple appeared before him. The roofs were curved like the typical temples seen in the furthest reaches of eastern Asia. Old stone statues decorated the side of the pathway leading up the temple. Adrien made a note of every single of them as he walked past. There was a chicken, a pig, a snake, a dragon, a monkey, a tiger…Adrien frowned as he realised they were all modelled after signs of the Chinese zodiac.

Adrien's confusion only increased when that theory was put to the test by the appearance of a bee statue further down the pathway, followed by a turtle, a butterfly, a fox, a peacock and then…a cat and a ladybug. Was this…the original temple of the guardians of the miraculous? Adrien's green eyes widened with that realisation. Nonetheless, he continued walking forwards, feeling slightly intimidated, but also feeling that this was likely his only hope of finding out what was going on and how to get out of here.

He approached the large doorway and jumped back slightly as the echo of voices inside startled him. For a moment, Adrien hid behind one of the stone pillars, out of sight of the main entrance of the temple. The voices continued, but Adrien couldn't quite make out what they were saying. They didn't sound threatening, seemingly just talking amongst themselves. Whatever was going on, there was definitely a large crowd of people inside the temple. Curious, and desperate for some help and some answers, Adrien came out from his hiding place and began making his way inside. The main hall was filled with yellow light from the fire of the torches that were hung in the centre and around the sides of the huge hall. Thick stone pillars held the ceiling up and it seemed as though every inch of the hall was covered in ancient carvings depicting many scenes in many different unknown languages.

Adrien gazed at everything in awe, watching as the many people in the temple, most of them dressed in colourful robes conversed with each other. Was this some sort of party or gathering? None of them seemed to be talking in French, speaking in a language that Adrien couldn't quite understand. Adrien had learnt a lot of languages over the course of his life, but this was something entirely new. He had never heard anything remotely like it before.

The hall suddenly went very quiet, everyone turning towards the door, facing Adrien's direction which instantly filled him with fear. Was he not supposed to be here? Had he intruded on something important? How would he even begin to explain himself? Interrupting his panicked thoughts, Adrien yelped as a woman walked right through him, followed by another. Was this…some sort of vision? Adrien frowned at the two women, stepping slightly to the side so that he could get a better look at them.

They looked like…

"Mom!" Adrien gasped out, but no one turned to look at him over his sudden exclamation. Once again, like in most visions, it was like Adrien was a ghost. Completely powerless, unable to do anything but watch the scenes before him unfold.

His mother came to a stop just before the small set of stairs that led down into the centre of the great hall before them. Nina followed, stopping next to Emilie, smiling excitedly, her eyes practically ravenous like a starved human seeing food for the first time in weeks. Emilie on the other hand, looked cautious, guarded, like she wasn't too sure whether she should be there or not. All eyes were on them and it looked like Emilie was about to take a step back, maybe even run out of the room when Nina grabbed hold of her hand tightly, holding her in place. Emilie began shaking nervously while Nina was practically bouncing with anticipation.

An elderly man then stepped forward, also dressed in the colourful robes that everybody else in the temple was wearing. There was something very familiar about him. He was incredibly short and walked forward very slowly. His hair was almost completely grey with some stubborn black strands of hair remaining. He was carrying a very old looking brown box in his hand before pressing buttons on the side in what appeared to be some type of code. The box opened up, revealing many different items of jewellery inside, displayed against a coloured background. Adrien stepped forward to get a closer look and gasped when he caught sight of his own miraculous that was being kept safely in the centre in the yin and yang symbol next to Ladybug's earrings. Next to those, he could see a necklace in the shape of a fox tale, a bracelet in the shape of a turtle, a comb in the shape of a bee and two brooches, one the shape of a butterfly while the other resembled a peacock.

"Master Fu?" Adrien couldn't help but say out loud. Not that it seemed to matter anyway. It appeared that no one in here was aware of his existence.

After Master Fu had stepped forward and opened the box, another Chinese man stepped forward, standing behind Master Fu and watching the scene unfold. He was much younger than Master Fu, perhaps around the same age as Nina and Emile in this moment, with thick black hair and grey eyes. It looked like he was some sort of apprentice of Master Fu as he shadowed his every movements, paying close attention to what he did. Every now and then, his eyes would dart to Nina, seemingly transfixed by her before forcing himself to look away. Nina didn't seem to notice as all of her focus was on the box containing the miraculous.

Master Fu then turned his back on the two women and Adrien, placing the box down and then fiddling around with something. Once he was finished, Master Fu turned back around, holding his hands out. In each hand was a small black box, much like the one that Adrien had received Plagg in so long ago now. Wait…did this mean…what Adrien thought it meant? It couldn't be…

"Emilie, you have demonstrated great endurance, generosity and a pure soul by always being there to help your dear friend here. It is for that reason that I bestow you with the butterfly miraculous." Master Fu said, smiling slightly as he handed one black box over to Emilie.

Emilie took it off him slowly, delicately examining the box in her hand before looking towards a still excited Nina and then back to Master Fu. Her face remained neutral, but her green eyes betrayed the obvious fear that lurked inside her over this whole situation. She slowly lowered her hand, gripping the black box tightly at her side.

Adrien watched his mother in a state of complete horror. His own mother had been…a miraculous holder? And not only that, but…the butterfly miraculous? Did…did this mean…? Adrien couldn't even bring himself to think such a horrific, ghastly, monstrous, unspeakable thought.

Master Fu then turned to Nina. "Charming and zealous Nina, who believed in our existence and cause wholeheartedly, I give to you the peacock miraculous."

Master Fu then handed the black box containing the peacock miraculous over to her. Nina all but snatched the box off him, examining it greedily before beaming at a still unsure and worried looking Emilie at the side of her. Master Fu smiled at both of them before bowing.

"I'm sure you'll both need time to become acquainted with your kwamis." Master Fu clapped his hands. "The choosing ceremony is over. Prove to me that I have chosen wisely, my dears."

He then said something to the crowd in the language that Adrien couldn't understand. People began to exit the hall, making their way to other areas of the temple, followed by Master Fu, leaving the two new miraculous holders alone in the hall with Adrien watching over them. Adrien felt sick. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. His own mother had been a miraculous wielder. Did his father know about this? Did this have something to do with how his mother disappeared?

Barely able to breathe because of this new information, Adrien watched as Nina immediately opened the box. In a burst of blue light, a blue kwami appeared before Nina much like how Plagg had appeared before him. The blue kwami uncurled herself, revealing a blue feathered tail decorated with orange eyes. The little kwami's eyes opened, revealing blue sclerae with orange irises. She extended her little arm out towards Nina, smiling at her.

"Hi, I'm Duusu!" She greeted happily.

"Look Emilie!" Nina yelled excitedly. "A kwami, just like I said!"

"Y-yeah." Emilie stuttered looking at the small creature in alarm and disbelief.

"Open yours, Emilie, there's nothing to be scared of." Nina encouraged.

Emilie stared back down at the black box in her hand. Biting her lip, she then slowly raised her other hand and opened the box. Emilie flinched away when the purple light appeared, dropping the box to the ground and letting out a little squeak of fear. Her entire form began shaking slightly as a light purple kwami appeared before her, stretching and yawning as it woke up from its long slumber. A darker purple swirl decorated his head and purple butterfly shaped wings protruded from his back. Emilie jumped back away from him in fear.

"There's no need to be afraid, I'm Nooroo." The purple butterfly kwami calmly explained.

"It's just…how is all of this possible…it can't be possible!" Emilie started freaking out.

"It's okay, Em." Nina placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Emilie shook Nina's hand off. "It's not okay. This was the reason you dragged me here?! You wanted us to be chosen holders of these _miracle thingies?!_ "

"Miraculous."

"Whatever."

"I admit it, I did bring you here because I believed with all my heart that these powerful objects existed. I didn't come here for fashion ideas. I just…I wanted us to be a part of something big Emilie. Day in and day out, we're both stuck in our apartment longing to be successful designers and actresses. I don't know whether all that will happen. At least with this, I stand a chance of making something with my life and there was other person I would want by my side more than you, Emilie. You've given me so much. I wanted to give you this magical gift in return. Think of all the good we can do." Nina pleaded. "These kwamis can transform us into powerful heroes and we can help people."

Emilie sighed as her eyes softened before looking down.

"She's right, you know." Nooroo smiled. "We kwamis are a strong force to be used for good. We want to help you help others. All you have to do is say dark wings rise."

"Dark wings rise?" Emilie repeated, confused before she screamed as she was suddenly enveloped in bright purple light and white butterflies surrounded her, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Duusu turned to Nina. "And all you have to do is say –"

"Duusu, feathers up!" Nina yelled excitedly, disappearing into blue light.

Adrien was blinded by the light, instinctively shielding his eyes with his arms, his mind spinning as he processed the scene he had just watched before him. His brain couldn't quite seem to make sense of what he had just witnessed. His mother had been a miraculous holder. And not just any miraculous: the butterfly. And Nina…Nina possessed the peacock miraculous. Was it just a coincidence that she had showed an interest in Marinette? The odds seemed almost astronomical that Nina, the peacock miraculous holder, would become so interested in hiring Marinette, the keeper of the ladybug miraculous. Then again, it was a strange coincidence that Ladybug had been sat behind him in class the whole time, so maybe Nina and Marinette working together really was a coincidence. But still, something didn't sit right with Adrien about this whole situation.

When Adrien uncovered his eyes, the previous scene had dissolved and Adrien was now standing in the middle of a crowded Parisian street. The crowd were staring and gasping in awe at something and Adrien looked up just in time to see two figures fly over the top of it, gliding through the city much like how he and Ladybug did most days. Adrien gasped as he caught sight of his mother, smiling down at the crowd. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail by a grey hair tie with two small grey antennae sticking up from her head. Her mask covered her eyes much like Ladybug's and was completely grey, making her green eyes stand out even more. Her suit was dark purple and skin tight with the purple brooch pinned to her chest. A grey cape billowed out from behind her, cut into the shape of long butterfly wings with grey gloves and knee high boots to match. In her hand she carried a long cane.

Nina was wearing an elegant, long-sleeved, blue dress that split in the middle before splitting even more into feather like shapes, decorated with orange eyes. Her tights were blue and her black boots came up to her knees. Her hair had also turned blue, most of it pulled back and over her head in the shape of a feather. Her eyes were no longer the deep blue that dazzled many but were now a hypnotic orange. She carried a fan in her hand, decorated with many peacock feathers.

"Look! It's Apatura and Le Paon!" Someone in the crowd shouted and everyone began waving and smiling at them.

Apatura? Apatura? Why did that name ring a bell with Adrien? He frowned as he thought hard before gasping when it finally clicked. The word that had been written on that letter! Whoever had been writing to his mother, they knew that she was in possession of the butterfly miraculous. But how? And why?

They waved back and carried on going on their way, gracefully gliding through the city. The scene faded as they disappeared, morphing into what looked like the outside of a very fancy building. Nina cut some red tape and the crowd in front of them cheered. Nina was practically glowing with happiness as she turned to embrace Emilie tightly. Emilie hugged her back, the pair of them looking so close and happy. Adrien found himself frowning slightly, confused as to what could possibly have happened between his mother and Nina; they seemed as close as sisters.

As if to answer his question, Adrien blinked and gasped, looking around startled at a familiar scene he knew all too well. The room was barely decorated, with wires, cameras and lights everywhere. In the centre of the room, the floor had been painted white with a white backdrop on the far side. A photography set. Adrien knew them well for he had spent practically all of his life in them.

His mother was stood posing, modelling some clothes while a photographer took many pictures of her from different angles. After one last flash of the camera, his mother relaxed before her attention was caught by Nina walking into the room, her arm linked up with…

No…

His father?! Adrien nearly stumbled backwards at the sight. His father looked slightly younger and…normal. He had a small smile on his face at whatever Nina was telling him. She was practically hanging off him and looking at him adoringly. Emilie approached them with a polite smile on her face and both Nina and his father stopped in front of her.

"Emilie, this is my boyfriend Gabriel. Gabriel, this is my best friend, Emilie." Nina introduced them.

Boyfriend?! His father had previously dated Nina Couture?! Surely this was all just some fever dream that Adrien was having? None of this was possible. Was it? His own father…and Nina…this was all too much information at once…not that Adrien thought he would ever be prepared for such a revelation. That's if any of this was even true. Yeah. This must be more lies conjured up by the creature to mess with his head. To make him not trust his own parents. Because why would they feel the need to hide all of this for him? Then Adrien remembered with a terrible sinking feeling that the last vision the creature had showed him had been completely accurate. His mother and Nina had been best friends. So…did that mean…that all of these visions were true as well? At this realisation, Adrien began to feel like his whole world was shattering.

Adrien watched on as his father finally turned to look at Emilie. Adrien had never seen his father look so speechless. His grey eyes completely softened and he froze in place, staring at Emilie in wonder and amazement. It was such a look of pure love. The kind of look he often remember his parents giving each other when his mother had still been around. Those memories pained Adrien. Seeing his mother, alive and well left the temptation to reach out and touch her almost too much to bear. But he knew he couldn't. These were only visions. They could neither see, hear or feel him. At those thoughts, Adrien squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to force the tears back that were threatening to spill out of his eyes.

"You traitor!" He heard Nina scream, but Adrien could not bring himself to open his eyes, terrified of breaking down over what was being revealed to him.

"I can't believe you're marrying him! You haven't even been together that long!" Nina screamed and then Adrien heard something smash.

All was quiet for a few seconds before he heard his mother speak up.

"I know, but, it feels like it's meant to be." Emilie replied as calmly as she could, though she sounded close to tears.

"First you have an affair with _my_ man and now you're marrying him and come here and gloat about it?! I can't believe the nerve of you!" Nina continued to scream before breaking down and sobbing.

That's when Adrien finally decided to open his eyes and watch the scene unfold in front of him. Nina had collapsed onto her knees on the floor of what looked like her office and was sobbing into her hands, surrounded by what looked like pieces of broken pottery. Emilie was stood just in front of the door, watching Nina helplessly with a look of intense guilt on her face.

"We didn't have an affair!" Emilie protested.

"Seeing someone else's boyfriend behind their back?! Yeah, that's totally not an affair!" Nina snapped.

"But we didn't… _do anything._ Not like that anyway." Emilie continued to plead.

"Oh, that makes it so much better!"

Emilie sighed. "If you're quite finished being so dramatic –"

"Dramatic?!" Nina screeched.

"I came here to also ask if you would be one of my bridesmaids?"

Nina froze. "What?" She hissed.

"You're one of my best friends, Nina. It would break my heart if you weren't by my side on my big day." Emilie begged, tears finally spilling over and trickling down her cheeks. "I know I've hurt you…and I-I'm sorry. But we can get through this."

"I really can't believe you sometimes, you – wait… _one_ of your best friends?" Nina narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Well…" Emilie shuffled nervously. "Don't get mad, but…I've been hanging around Audrey a lot lately and –"

"You're friends with Audrey now?! Em, she made my life hell! How can you be friends with someone who you know bullied me throughout our time at school?!"

"But she's changed now!"

"Yeah right." Nina sneered. "People like Audrey never change. Any kids she has will be the same, mark my word."

"Oh, stop being so childish and jealous." Emilie sighed. "You can never stand it when I have other people in my life and quite frankly, I find it rather suffocating sometimes."

"Jealous?! Of your friendship with _her?!_ Please." Nina rolled her swollen, red eyes. "And just because you feel like I'm _suffocating_ you or whatever, doesn't excuse you out of going off with the only man I have ever truly loved."

"Love? You don't know the meaning of the word. All you know how to feel is cold, hard ambition." Emilie growled. "You pushed me into supporting you with your fashion business, you pushed me into modelling for you when you knew how much I wanted to be an actress, you pushed me into becoming a superhero, a responsibility I didn't even want, and you pushed yourself onto poor Gabriel. All you cared about was the business he would get you."

Nina glared at Emilie with a ferociousness Adrien never thought possible. "Don't pretend to be so innocent, you knew exactly how I felt about Gabriel. And sorry for only wanting the best for you!"

Emilie looked like she was about to argue back before she took a deep breath and placed a hand on her forehead, closing her eyes. "Look, Nina. I think you need a break."

"What?!"

"You've really been scaring me lately since we're being honest right now." Emilie opened her eyes to look at Nina seriously. "All you seem to care about now is getting more power. I saw you months ago when we were in Tibet, pestering Master Fu for another miraculous, or to learn how to become a guardian. You can't have more the one miraculous, Nina, you know that. I don't understand what's gotten into you. Nothing seems to be enough for you." Emilie took another deep breath. "I am sorry about everything that's happened. But maybe, if you won't come to my wedding, you should stay in Tibet for a while with the guardians. They'll be able to give you the help you need. And there's always Xing Cheng? He seems to carry a torch for you, I'm sure in time…"

"I can't believe you're trying to palm me off on someone else!" Nina yelled, slamming her fists against the floor. "I don't want Xing, I want Gabriel! Xing is pathetic! He follows Master Fu around like a lost puppy and has no brain of his own. His sister is just as vapid." Nina then smiled sinisterly. "Oh well…I have _other ways_ of making Gabriel come back to me. I can make him do whatever I want."

Emilie gasped and Adrien watched in horror as his mother darted forward and grabbed hold of Nina by her hair. Nina screamed as Emilie pulled her up by her hair and then slammed her down against desk, pinning her head down. Emilie yelped as Emilie continued to pull on her hair and pin her against the desk. Adrien had _never_ seen his mother behave so violently before.

"If you harm one hair on Gabriel's head, I swear you'll live to regret it!" Emilie threatened, her face flushing red with rage. "You need help, Nina! What sane person threatens to use their miraculous magic for such means?!"

"Get off me!" Nina growled. "GET OFF ME!"

Emilie released her and Nina stood back up before she backed away from Emilie, glaring at her menacingly. Emilie smoothed her dress out before she walked back towards the door. She opened it before pausing and turning back to Nina one last time.

"My offer still stands," Emilie sighed, "I hate that this has come between us. You are and always will be my bestest friend. The wedding is in a month. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and attend. There's no one who I would want by my side more than you."

Nina said nothing, balling her hands into fists as she looked away and fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Emilie then sighed, walking out of the door. Adrien peered around after her before gasping at the sight of the creature…no…two creatures, one slightly taller and more broader than the other, watching the scene unfold. The two creatures then turned to look at Adrien, the smaller one reaching its hand out towards him…

"GAH!" Adrien awoke, his forehead throbbing slightly from having fallen asleep on his desk. His heart was pounding and he was drenched in cold sweat. Images of what he had just witnessed continued to swirl around in his mind like a giant whirlpool, threatening to pull his sanity down into its depths and drown him in the terrifying visions. Why was he being shown all of this? Why was the creature supposedly showing him visions from his mother's past? Creatures. As in…plural…there was two of them?! Adrien needed to tell Ladybug the news.

"Uhhh, I was hoping you'd sleep longer and miss the ball." Plagg sighed before scoffing more cheese.

Adrien slowly turned towards Plagg and the black kwami froze at the terrified expression Adrien had on his face. Sweat dripped down from his forehead and he felt physically sick. Those things he had seen. The things he had seen his mother do…the fact that she was secretly a superhero, the previous holder of the butterfly miraculous. What if…what if Hawkmoth had killed his mother and stolen the brooch off her?! What if his mother… _was Hawkmoth?!_ Adrien nearly passed out at that thought before he shook his head.

No.

That would be ridiculous.

His mother couldn't possibly be Hawkmoth, she was gone. She would never become an evil villain. Sure, she had clearly done some bad things as he had just seen, but she wasn't _evil._ And he had seen Hawkmoth's face the day he had projected himself and announced his presence to the city. Hawkmoth was clearly a man. And his mother had referred to herself as Apatura. But that still didn't leave out the first theory.

"Kid…are you…are you okay?" Plagg watched his holder nervously.

"Plagg, did you know my mother possessed the butterfly miraculous?" Adrien asked in a rush.

Plagg blinked. "What?"

"M-my mother…she was a miraculous holder…s-she held the butterfly miraculous."

Plagg remained frozen in shock. "Where on earth is this coming from?"

"Those visions I've been having," Adrien explained in a panic, "I had some more and I saw my mom being given her miraculous by Master Fu along with Nina who was given the peacock miraculous."

"I thought I told you to take those visions with a pinch of salt?"

"But the last vision turned out to be true, Plagg!" Adrien yelled. "And there isn't just one creature behind these strange visions, there's more than one, there's tw – we have to go and tell Ladybug!" Adrien interrupted himself in panic.

Adrien twisted back around to look at the clock on his computer and gasped when he realised that he was on the verge of being late for the party that the mayor was holding for both him and Ladybug. He could tell her there. He could pull her aside and tell her about the creature. Did he tell her about his mother? Adrien wasn't too sure; he'd cross that bridge when he got there. But maybe it _would_ be best to keep that a secret for now, just until he could do some more snooping in his mother's office for further confirmation and evidence.

It did certainly make Adrien wonder. What more secrets could his mother possibly be hiding?

* * *

 **Is the peacock miraculous a brooch? I can never quite tell. Oh well, in this story, it's a brooch. I apologise if I've got it wrong, but I've looked at images of it over and over again and tried to find as much information on it as I can and it seems that the wiki also says it's a brooch, but I know wiki articles aren't always the most trustworthy sources. So I decided to just have it as a brooch in this story as that's what it most looks like to me. Also I'm not sure whether Duusu will be a boy or a girl yet. It seems the kwamis are technically sexless, but it does seem they have preferred pronouns, so I guess in this, I'm making Duusu a female.**

 **Anyway, feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions by leaving a review, it's always a huge help to me if you do and I really appreciate them. I'll see you guys soon and I hope that you have a lovely week.**


	30. An Onerous Choice

**Hi everyone and welcome back! Thank you so much for your reviews on the previous chapter. Your theories on what is going on are very interesting which makes me excited to see your reactions as everything is revealed. Also, thank you to everyone who has followed this story or added it to their favourites. I really appreciate the support. Fun little fact: this was actually one of the first chapters I planned for this story.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty: An Onerous Choice**

Ladybug sat crouched on a high rooftop overlooking the grand hotel that the mayor of Paris owned. The whole place was crowded with people gathered outside. Limousines arrived, carrying some of France's most important and famous people. It seemed like anybody who was anybody had been invited to this party. A party that was being held in hers and Chat's Noir's honour. Ladybug shuddered at the attention. She didn't save Paris to attend fancy parties like these where she would be way out of her element. But it was necessary. She was doing this for Chat. She was doing this for Paris.

When she had arrived back from her work placement with Nina, Marinette had collapsed on her bed, almost considering just not bothering to show up. But Tikki had talked her back into it, reminding her that she had agreed to do this for Chat, and it would be a good opportunity to watch out for any suspicious activity. As usual, Tikki was right and Marinette had quickly transformed into Ladybug and landed on this rooftop, ready to go inside and put on a calm façade while she internally freaked out and kept a close eye on everyone at the party. The problem was, Ladybug had remained crouched on this rooftop for the past twenty minutes. The whole time she couldn't bring herself to jump down and make her grand entrance.

Lost deep in her thoughts, trying her best to motivate herself to just jump down and go inside, the sudden sound of someone landing next to her made her jump and yelp slightly in shock. Ladybug lost her balance slightly and fell sideways, her elbows managing to catch herself on the edge of the roof before she fell off. She stared at a sheepish looking Chat Noir, with eyes wide in shock and fear before her expression melted and turned to one of relief.

"Chat! You scared me!" Ladybug gasped, pushing herself back upright and dusted herself off.

"Sorry." Chat apologised, suddenly unable to bring himself to look at her.

Immediately, alarm bells began ringing in Ladybug's head. Something was wrong. She could read her partner like a book and always instantly knew when something was wrong with him. His eyes looked wide and haunted, like he had just witnessed something extremely disturbing. His usually tan skin was completely pale with not a single trace of colour. He was also trembling slightly which, combined with everything else, made it look like he was ill.

Ladybug stared at him for a moment in a daze, confused and frightened over what was going on. Chat kept chewing on his lower lip, as if he wanted to say something but the words kept getting caught in his throat. Ladybug looked around for any signs of danger, but the night seemed normal. Music was blaring from the hotel, making it hard to hear if any commotion was going on in the city. Looking back at Chat in alarm, Ladybug reached a hand out and gently touched his shoulder, shuffling closer so that she could hear him speak over the loud music and shouting of the people below.

"Chat?" Ladybug put as much reassurance into her tone as possible, though it was difficult. "Is something wrong?"

"T-the creature." Chat finally managed to force himself to say. His eyes finally met Ladybug's for a moment before they quickly looked away again. Instead, he stared down at the roof tiles beneath them, running a claw around the edge of them.

Ladybug waited patiently for him to continue. Clearly something had happened that had disturbed her partner. Had he fallen asleep and had another scary nightmare? Ladybug protectively wrapped her other arm around him in an effort to help him feel more comfortable telling her more about what happened and to let him know that she was there for him.

"What is it?" Ladybug asked gently. "Did you have another nightmare?"

Chat Noir slowly nodded before he closed his eyes and visibly cringed. "There's two of them."

Ladybug froze. "W-what?"

"There's two of them." Chat Noir repeated, much more loudly this time with an edge of panic in his tone.

Ladybug remained frozen, only this time, she didn't know what to say. Chat Noir's words kept repeating themselves in her head, echoing around her mind as she could think of nothing else. They weren't just dealing with one seemingly powerful creature, but…two?! All this time, she had thought there was just one of them, but now Chat was telling her that there was more? How was that possible? What were they? What did they want with her and Chat Noir? Why were they just attacking them in their dreams and not showing up during the day? Nothing was making any sense. As her thoughts grew even more wild, Ladybug found herself gasping for air as the weight of everything came tumbling down on top of her, crashing into her and knocking the air out of her as she lay squashed beneath the rubble.

"I had another dream," Chat continued to explain, "And there was two of them. One is slightly bigger than the other and they were just watching everything."

"I-I don't understand." Ladybug whispered, letting go of Chat so that she could grip her dark hair.

"I don't either." Chat mumbled back, still sounding spooked.

"Is there anything else?" Ladybug turned to look back to Chat Noir, wondering if he had anymore news for her regarding the mess that they had found themselves in. Maybe the dreams that the creatures had given him had provided him with more clues over what was going on. There had to be something they could try and figure out from all of this. There had to be some sort of clue somewhere as to what these creatures were and what they wanted with them.

Chat was quiet for a moment before he looked her straight in the eye. "No, there's nothing else. What else would there be?"

"Are you sure?" Ladybug narrowed her eyes, hoping that Chat Noir would think a little harder and maybe realise he was missing an important bit of information that might help them figure things out.

Chat looked up to the left, looking a little uncomfortable as he shuffled slightly. "I'm positive."

Despite Chat's reassurance, something still didn't feel quite right to Ladybug. It felt like there was more to this than Chat Noir was letting on, but he had told her twice that there was nothing more he could think of. Besides, what would Chat Noir have to hide anyway? That thought reassured Ladybug slightly. Ladybug had promised to be more honest with him, so surely he would automatically extend that same courtesy as well. No matter how many times Ladybug tried to reassure herself, she just couldn't seem to shake off that sinking feeling. Maybe it was just the shock of finding out that they were actually dealing with more than one of those weird creatures?

However, Ladybug didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts long as Chat Noir's sigh brought her out of her deep thoughts. They both looked towards the grand looking hotel where music blared and people laughed, continuing on with their lives, oblivious to everything that felt so wrong to Ladybug and Chat Noir right now. It was quite a jolting feeling as Ladybug watched the civilians below her, who had no idea that their favourites heroes were potentially in a lot of great danger right now.

"Do you still want to do this?" Chat Noir asked, finally turning to look at her properly again.

Ladybug blinked. "Do what?"

"Go to this party?" Chat Noir explained. "Because if you don't, I understand. I should never have pressured you into it in the first place, that wasn't fair of me."

"No no, it's fine." Ladybug frowned at the hotel. "This will give us a good chance to watch out for any suspicious activity. If some people are secretly after us, they'll know that we'll be here tonight so we might be able to spot something."

"I don't see how two weird stick figure-like creatures would blend in at a party like this." Chat chuckled, trying to make light of the situation like he normally did.

Ladybug smiled despite everything. "Well there's every chance that that's not what they really look like and that's just how they're projecting themselves in our dreams in order to scare us."

"Good point." Chat thought for a moment.

Ladybug then swallowed and stared back down at the party below them. Everyone was dressed so fancy and Ladybug felt incredibly uncomfortable as she watched the people below her. It had gotten a lot busier since Ladybug had froze on the roof twenty minutes earlier. She knew that at this point, she and Chat Noir were late and that everyone was probably wonder they were. Maybe some were even starting to worry that there was an akuma attack. She guessed that she should show her face now – as much as she didn't want to.

"Shall we, my lady?" Chat bowed to her before extending his arm for her to loop her own arm around.

Ladybug giggled despite the churning sensation in her stomach. "Why thank you, sir." Ladybug played along, inserting her arm into the gap that Chat Noir had left for her. The instant her arm touched his, electrical sparks shot from his arm to hers, making her entire body tingle. Chat Noir pulling her closer to him didn't help and already Ladybug regretted doing this. She should have just jumped down off the roof before Chat Noir could get chivalrous with her. She should have known he would do something like this and now she was going to be left with these weird feelings and sensations distracting her throughout the night and making her take her eye off the objective.

Trying her best to ignore the weird feelings inside her, Ladybug jumped down from the rooftop with Chat Noir and made their way towards the hotel. People almost instantly spotted them and began waving and shouting excitedly. Mayor Bourgeois, upon hearing the commotion outside, burst out of the main entrance, sweating and looking incredibly stressed.

"Ah, there you are!" He exclaimed breathlessly as Chat Noir and Ladybug froze in front of the entrance. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to come."

"Sorry we're late, Mayor Bourgeois." Chat apologised.

However, the mayor didn't seem to care as he ran around them and began pushing them both inside by the shoulders. Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a glance, but otherwise let the obviously stressed out mayor push them inside. Once they were in the main lobby of the hotel, all the guests excitedly turned towards them while the mayor ran back around, attempted to straighten out his suit and then cleared his throat and tapped his wine glass to get everyone's attention. Everyone went quiet and turned towards them, causing Ladybug to blush nervously as the elite of Paris stared at her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our guests of honor have finally arrived!" Mayor Bourgeois announced.

Everyone cheered and applauded. Chat Noir waved happily at them and Ladybug copied him, though her wave was a little more awkward. The mayor then left them alone, backing away and still looking stressed as he turned to some of his guests and asked if they had everything they needed.

Ladybug stuck to Chat Noir's side like glue, really wishing that she wasn't here right now. The party was full of rich and famous people and Ladybug really didn't know what to do or say. Some people approached them and congratulated them on their many victories against akumas and for keeping Paris safe. Others were not so kind, snootily asking them why they had not found and caught Hawkmoth by now. Ladybug had grown frustrated at those questions, but also couldn't help but feel like they had a point. It just made Ladybug feel even more inadequate as a hero. Maybe if she was better at being Ladybug, she would have caught Hawkmoth by now. But Hawkmoth was a tricky villain to defeat. He never fought his own battles and instead used other people while he safely hid away somewhere.

Luckily, Chat Noir had done most of the talking for her, enjoying being in the spotlight and sensing Ladybug's discomfort at the situation. Ladybug decided to keep her eyes peeled. She gazed around at the party trying to look for anyone who might be acting suspicious. Everything seemed normal. People were dancing, standing around talking or enjoying the food and drink at the fancy looking buffet. Mayor Bourgeois seemed to be in his element as he eagerly checked on his guests and showed off as much as he could. Ladybug narrowed her eyes at him, shuddering as he reminded her so much of Chloé.

While Chat Noir was busy talking to some people about life as a hero, two hands suddenly grabbed Ladybug by the shoulders and pulled her backwards. Ladybug yelped, but Chat didn't notice as she was dragged to the other side of the grand room by whoever had hold of her. Once they had reached somewhere quieter, Ladybug soon found herself enveloped into a tight hug, causing her to gasp for air.

"Oh, Ladybug, I just knew you would come!" A familiar voice squealed as she squeezed the life out of Ladybug. "It was actually my idea that daddy should throw this party for you, so what do you think? No expense was spared."

"C-Chloé…c-can't…breathe…" Ladybug growled out as best as she could, trying her best to wiggled out of Chloé's tight embrace. Chloé's strong perfume nearly had her choking and she sighed with relief when they blonde girl finally decided to release her. Ladybug clutched at her ribs, gasping for air before the familiar annoyance she felt around Chloé started to bubble up.

"Though why you had to come in that ridiculous superhero suit, I'll never know." Chloé sneered as she looked Ladybug up and down. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I am your biggest fan, but you could have chosen a better suit. Or maybe even decided to wear a nice dress tonight."

"I'll bear that in mind for next time." Ladybug grumbled, going back to watching the room full of people. As much as she hated being kidnapped by Chloé, this spot did actually give her a better vantage point.

Chloé gasped. "I knew you'd listen to my good taste! I mean, why wouldn't you? We are best friends after all!"

Chloé then pulled out her phone before grabbing Ladybug by the shoulder and pulled her closer to her. The flash of the phone nearly blinded Ladybug and she cringed away before trying to blink away the coloured splodges that were dancing across her vision. Sulking, Ladybug folded her arms across her chest, screaming at Chloé in her head to go away. However, her long time rival was busy admiring the photo she had taken before posting it onto every social media platform possible. Ladybug cringed, biting her lip to stop herself from saying anything she might regret. She really didn't want to deal with Chloé at the moment. Though, there wasn't ever a time when Ladybug _did_ want to deal with Chloé. It was just that now was an even more worse time than usual with everything that was going on.

"But of course, even if you did wear a dress tonight, it would only come second to mine." Chloé did a little twirl to show off the short, black dress she was wearing. "It's brand new from Gabriel and isn't even in the stores yet." She boasted. "Seen as my daddy is such good friends with Gabriel, he let me have early access to one for the party tonight."

"Ahhh, so that's why the material looks so cheap." Another familiar voice yelled over the music before Ladybug heard the clicking sound of heals making their way towards her.

Ladybug turned to her right to see Nina walking towards them, her eyes looking Chloé up and down while she sneered at her. Ladybug's eyes widened at how absolutely stunning Nina looked tonight. She was wearing a long, royal blue frock that brought out the hypnotic beauty of her blue eyes even more. Her blonde hair had been curled and framed her face nicely and despite how high her heals were, she still walked gracefully while carrying a full glass of red wine in her hands.

Chloé scoffed. "You again?!"

Nina laughed. "Your daddy invited Paris's most rich and powerful, so here I am. How's your hair?"

Chloé flinched slightly at the memory before regaining her composure. "Well, I can just make him _uninvite_ you." Chloé smirked triumphantly.

Nina glared at Chloé before turning her attention to Ladybug.

"Is this little brat bothering you, Ladybug?" Nina inquired before casually taking a sip of her wine.

Before Ladybug could saying anything, Chloé gasped and growled, balling her hands into fists while standing on her tip-toes to try and reach Nina's height and intimidate her. Nina didn't seem phased, in fact, she just seemed to grow more and more amused by the whole situation.

"How dare you?!" Chloé hissed. "Ladybug is my BFF, just wait until I tell daddy about this, he'll throw you out."

Nina scoffed. "You go do that little madam. I don't care because I know and could say things about your mommy and daddy that'll have you fall from the top of the food chain all the way to the bottom. Though I think you'd fit in nicely with the amoebas seen as you have the IQ of one."

"Daddy!" Chloé cried out, running off the go searching through the party for the mayor.

Nina took another sip of wine as she watched Chloé run away, looking very pleased with herself.

"Aren't you worried about getting kicked out?" Ladybug asked, reminding herself that she needed to play dumb with Nina. Marinette knew who Nina was, but Ladybug didn't. Ladybug was actually feeling slightly amazed that Nina had come to her rescue regarding Chloé _again._ Nina definitely seemed like a woman who knew how to handle herself and defend others. Ladybug began to think of how much a good superhero Nina would make given everything that the woman, who was practically a stranger, had done for her.

"Of course not." Nina laughed. "It won't be the first time I've been thrown out of one of these places. I'm Nina Couture by the way." She winked.

Ladybug felt like Nina's wink was some sort of inside joke she was missing out on. But she did her best to ignore it and put on an act.

"The fashion designer?!" Ladybug gasped.

"That's me."

"I love your work!" Ladybug gushed. This technically wasn't acting; she did love Nina's work. So fangirling over one of her favourite designers wasn't something that was particularly difficult to do.

Nina laughed. "You can act and pretend all you want, Ladybug."

Ladybug froze, her smile instantly dropping as she stared at Nina with wide, fearful eyes. Had Nina somehow figured it out? But how? Ladybug barely knew Nina and Nina barely knew Ladybug and Marinette. So how could she have figured out that she was Ladybug so quickly? Ladybug's brain picked the perfect moment to blue screen as she struggled to think of something to say and maybe save the situation. _Think Ladybug, think! Your identity and secret is at stake!_

"Relax, Ladybug," Nina giggled again, "You don't have to pretend with me. I know you don't really want to be here."

Ladybug relaxed. That was a close one.

"H-how can you tell?"

Nina winked again. "I can read you like a book. Call it a…certain type of intuition."

"Is that so?" Ladybug laughed, though she felt slightly confused by Nina's words.

"You're not destined for this sort of thing, Ladybug, don't worry." Nina's blue eyes sparkled as she peered at Ladybug over the rim of her wine glass. "It's very rare that I get to talk to a superhero. I've been away from Paris for a while, so I don't even know what kind of powers you have."

"I have the power of creation I guess." Ladybug tried to explain without going into too much detail.

"That's pretty impressive." Nina smirked. "So you save Paris all the time, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, have you ever thought of working on a much larger scale?"

Ladybug frowned. "I…don't follow you."

Nina smiled. "If you possess the power of creation, why limit yourself to just helping Paris?"

"I've…never really thought about that before." Ladybug admitted, still feeling slightly lost.

"Just think of everything that you could do with the power of creation." Nina mused, staring at the lights above them that frequently changed colour. Red light filled the room as they changed again and Nina turned back to Ladybug. "Maybe even shape the world to how you want it."

Ladybug narrowed her eyes. "I'm not really that sort of person. All I'm interested in is defeating Hawkmoth and keeping Paris safe from his akumas."

Nina smirked. "Of course." She said as if there was a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Ah, Nina Couture, Ladybug, there you are!" The mayor called, walking towards them with a smartly dressed Gabriel Agreste. His eyes immediately turned to cold, hard steel once he caught sight of Nina, but a slight smirk appeared on his face when he also caught sight of Ladybug.

The mayor leaned in towards Ladybug. "I trust Nina has been behaving herself?"

Nina raised her hand in a gesture of innocence. "Good as gold as always. How's your wife André? Or should I say your lord and master?"

The mayor narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm warning you." He then turned to Gabriel. "I don't know whether you heard that Nina was back in the country? I thought it would be great publicity to get the old rivals together in the same place."

Nina groaned. "I'm not nearly as drunk as I should be for this."

Ladybug giggled while Gabriel's expression didn't change. He remained tense with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. He towered over the both of them, and as always, Ladybug was slightly intimidated by his presence as most people seemed to be. Nina, however, didn't show the slightest bit of discomfort in his presence, treating this whole situation as nothing more than a joke. Ladybug wished that she had Nina's confidence. Especially if she hoped to date and marry Adrien one day. That would make Gabriel her father-in-law and she would hate to spend the rest of her life living in fear of him.

"You getting alcohol poisoning would be more than fine with me." Gabriel sneered.

"Marvellous." Mayor Bourgeois smiled awkwardly. "I'll leave you three to it."

"So…you're back then?" Gabriel asked flatly and Ladybug watched the whole conversation feeling like an awkward third wheel.

Nina smirked. "There's just no getting rid of me."

"Pity." Gabriel responded. "Because I hear the mountains of Tibet are lovely this time of year. Though I heard, as you'd know, you can't see much when the snow storms roll in."

Nina visibly winced before glaring at Gabriel. "You should be careful with what you say."

Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "What could you possibly do to _me_ now?"

Nina grinned widely at him. "Nothing I haven't done before."

Ladybug's eyes widened as she looked down just in time to see Gabriel's hand twitch as if he was about to strike her. Panicking at the escalating situation, Ladybug jumped in between them, blocking Nina from Gabriel's view. Even though she didn't understand what was going on, she could tell it was getting quite intense and that somebody needed to intervene. Even if Nina had been just as bad in this situation by goading Gabriel as well, it didn't mean she deserved to have any physical harm to come to her.

Upon Ladybug stepping between them, Gabriel's steely eyes suddenly set ablaze and he looked like he seriously contemplated hitting Ladybug as well in order to get to Nina. Ladybug stood her ground, glaring at Gabriel, daring him to raise a hand to her. He gazed back at Ladybug with a look of pure disgust on his face. In that moment, Gabriel made Ladybug feel like nothing more than a disease carrying cockroach. Gabriel backed away from her slightly as if she was contaminated and that caught Ladybug off guard slightly. She relaxed slightly in her stance before turning back to look at Nina who was busy casually drinking her wine as if nothing had just happened.

"Can we cool it here, guys?" Ladybug requested, looking between the both of them.

Nina merely flipped her blonde hair back, refusing to look in Gabriel's direction. Gabriel's face had turned slightly pale and was glaring at Nina with such a murderous ferocity that it started Ladybug. She was always used to his face being so calm and collected. These two really did _despise_ each other, Ladybug thought to herself. All this time, she wondered if their animosity was just some sort of publicity stunt or that they just disagreed over minor things.

"There you are, LB." Chat Noir's voice suddenly called, getting her immediate attention.

Chat Noir was jogging towards her, pushing his way through the crowds of people that were either standing around talking or dancing. Chat squeezed through one last group of dancers before his eyes grew slightly alarmed upon seeing who Ladybug was currently standing around with. His expression then immediately turned into a hostile glare and he wouldn't take his eyes off both Nina and Gabriel. He reached a point where he seemed to refuse to take any more steps closer towards them, instead, he reached out and grabbed Ladybug's hand, pulling her startled and confused form towards him. He pulled her behind him and Ladybug finally snapped out of her confused state and glared at him.

"Chat? What are you doing?" Ladybug demanded.

"Nothing, I just think we're better off hanging out somewhere else." Chat tried to sound as innocent as possible, but Ladybug wasn't buying it.

"Chat, stop being so rude." Ladybug looked self-consciously towards Gabriel and Nina who were both staring at Chat Noir with different levels of amusement in their eyes. Gabriel looked slightly smug while Nina looked like the situation was incredibly entertaining to her. Luckily, none of them looked offended, so Ladybug let out a slight sigh of relief.

"It's okay anyway, Ladybug, I think I've outstayed my welcome." Nina chuckled, placing her empty wine glass on the silver plate of a passing waiter.

"Oh please don't leave on mine and Chat's account." Ladybug pleaded, elbowing Chat in the ribs for good measure. He winced slightly, but his resolve seemed to remain as he continued to glare at Nina and Gabriel. What had gotten into him all of a sudden?

"It's nothing to do with you, dears," Nina then turned to glare at Gabriel, "However there is some company that I simply cannot stand. Not to mention I have… _a guest_ back home who I'm sure is missing my hospitality."

Gabriel froze and raised a curious eyebrow at her which Nina didn't notice. She merely smirked at the two heroes before gracefully walking past them.

"It was nice meeting you, Ladybug, Chat Noir." She nodded at them individually before walking off.

Ladybug turned to glare back at Chat Noir who was busy staring at Gabriel before his eyes quickly snapped away to look down at Ladybug. He didn't seem to register her glare as he grabbed hold of her with both hands. One hand grabbed hold of her own hand while the other grabbed her waist and he began twirling them away from the area.

"Chat! What are you doing?!" Ladybug screeched and she attempted to try and stop herself from tripping over.

"Dancing." Chat laughed, but it sounded fake.

"What's gotten into you?" Ladybug demanded.

"Can't I be spontaneous?" Chat joked as he continued to twirl them both around, holding Ladybug upright as she continued to trip over her feet while trying to keep up and pull away. "I want this night to be _purr_ fect."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I can't dance though, remember?"

"Don't worry, I can." Chat smiled, pulling her closer.

Despite feeling uncomfortable, Ladybug let him do it out of guilt. She had been so horrible to Chat Noir over these past few weeks that she guessed she owed him this much. Plus, it would give them both a chance to look around and see if they could spot anything. Ladybug's eyes darted around the room, partly to look for any suspicious activity, but also because she couldn't bring herself to look at Chat Noir in the eye. Those feelings were returning again as she remained in such close contact with him. His touch on her hand and waist continued to send pleasant tingles throughout her body that it had her knees becoming wobbly and unable to support her own weight. That fire within her that had ignited when she had first kissed him turned into a blaze once again, scalding every inch of her skin as it cried out for more of Chat Noir's touch.

"Look at me, my lady." Chat Noir pleaded softly.

Ladybug found herself obeying without thinking and her blue eyes immediately met his green ones. He smiled when her eyes met his and Ladybug found the corners of her lips twitching slightly, wanting his mirror his own happy and contented smile. Though Chat Noir still looked slightly on edge as he stared down at her. He was looking at her slightly differently too. Almost as if she was a difficult puzzle that he desperately needed to figure out or as if she had transformed into a different person. It was making her slightly nervous and putting her instincts on high alert.

Feeling uneasy, Ladybug looked away again, trying to desperately ignore the strange sensations that Chat Noir's touch was creating on her body. She bit her lip, screaming at her nerves to stop pleasurably tingling and to make her focus on the party around her to see if she could spot anything. Looking around the faces of everyone around her, Ladybug started to notice something. Everyone who was around them were shooting sideways glances in their direction, smirking and mumbling as people continued to subtly watch them. Two people whispering what a cute couple her and Chat Noir made was the last straw. This wasn't her humouring Chat. This was her stringing him along again.

"Stop!" Ladybug pleaded.

A startled Chat Noir brought them both to stop before he frowned as Ladybug yanked herself out of his grip. Not wanting anyone to see the tears that were welling up in her eyes, Ladybug quickly darted away from the scene. A few people shot her some puzzled looks and she could hear Chat Noir yelling her name from behind her, but she didn't dare look back and acknowledge him. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be feeling these feelings. She shouldn't be stringing Chat Noir along like this.

Once Ladybug had finally reached a quiet, deserted corridor somewhere further back on the main floor of the hotel, Ladybug finally let the tears spill over. She gripped at her hair in frustration before slamming her fist against the nearby wall. Her fist throbbed slightly afterwards, but she didn't care. She needed to vent. She wanted to scream! She wanted to smash something! Anything that might help her release these feelings from inside her and stop them from clouding her mind and intoxicating her.

Footsteps approached her from behind and Ladybug could immediately sense that it was her partner. She quickly took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with her gloved hands before slowly turning around to face him. Chat Noir gasped when he caught sight of her face. Damn, Ladybug guessed she hadn't wiped away the evidence that she was upset as much as she thought.

"What's wrong, my lady?" Chat Noir asked, sounding upset himself.

He ran towards her and cupped her cheek in his hand before Ladybug knocked his hand away from her. Chat Noir visibly flinched at her actions and the guilt continued to eat away at Ladybug until there was nothing left of her to consume. But she couldn't let him touch her. If she did, then she would cave into her selfish desires. What kind of horrible person was she?! She loved Adrien! Ladybug felt absolutely disgusted with herself to the point where she felt like she was going to be sick.

"This!" Ladybug suddenly exclaimed, her thoughts and feelings escaping from her mouth before she had time to stop them.

"Huh?"

"Us!" Ladybug yelled. "People thinking that there _is_ an _us_!"

Chat Noir looked completely confused. "I'm really not following you here, my lady."

"People out there think that we're together!"

Chat shrugged. "So? Who cares what people think?"

"I do! Because I don't have feelings for you!"

Chat Noir winced slightly before he frowned at her and slowly walked towards her, closing the gap between them and trapping Ladybug against the wall. Chat Noir stood so close to her that Ladybug could feel her grip on her self-control slipping. It would be so easy to just stand on her tip-toes now and press her lips against his. It would satisfy the craving deep within her and quell the pain she felt over physically being separated from him. That's all it would take. He was a few inches above her; he was hers for the taking.

"Are you sure about that?" Chat smirked at her.

"W-what?" Ladybug gulped, her eyes darting from his lips to his eyes and back again.

"You think I'm blind? You don't think I see what I'm doing to right now without any effort on my part? I can see it in your eyes, Ladybug." Chat leaned closer, teasing her. "You want me."

Ladybug bit her lip and shook her head vigorously, not trusting her own voice.

Chat Noir chuckled. "You're a terrible actor, my lady."

He leaned in even more, his face so close to hers and their lips almost touching. His eyes had fluttered closed, ready and confident that Ladybug would close that last, tiny gap between them. She wanted to. Oh, she wanted to so much. It would be so easy. It would soothe her yearning and satisfy her craving. But she knew that she would always want more. She had no idea where all of this had come from, but Ladybug knew she had to make a choice. Chat Noir, or Adrien. She would have thought the choice would be easy. But it wasn't. It was terrifyingly onerous.

No!

Her choice _was_ obvious!

And she chose Adrien!

It terrified Ladybug that she could even consider anybody else.

"No!" Ladybug cried out, ducking away from him and pacing to the opposite side of the corridor. "I love someone else!"

Chat Noir sighed, his shoulders hunching as he refused to turn around and look at her. "So you keep saying."

"I'm not lying, Chat! I really do love someone else."

"Who?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

"But I won't say or do anything." Chat Noir's voice was flat as he still remained standing with his back turned to her. "I don't see how you telling me the name of a strange boy will expose your identity. Can't I at least know that this person will treat you right?"

"It's not just that." Ladybug winced.

"Then what else is it?" Chat demanded.

"It's…he's someone famous." Ladybug slowly admitted growing even more ashamed, uncomfortable and scared.

"A fangirl crush?" Chat Noir seemed confused.

"No, it's more than that!" Ladybug hissed. "He's more than just some celebrity to me. He's kind and honest and an amazing friend. I know it seems stupid, I mean, he's a famous model and people will think I'm just after him because he's rich and famous. But I see the kind and gentle soul that's inside. Despite losing his mother and despite his issues with his father, he still puts other people above himself and that only makes me love Adrien more." Ladybug gushed without thinking.

"A-Adrien? As in…Adrien Agreste?" Chat Noir stuttered.

Ladybug gasped as she realised what she had just done. No no no no! Can't she rewind these last few seconds and take what she said back? Now Chat Noir was just going to think that she was some shallow fangirl. Now he was likely going to feel inadequate compared a famous model. What had she done?! She had just made the situation a thousand times worse! How could she be so stupid?!

Chat Noir had frozen in place, his back still to her, leaving her unable to read whatever expression was on his face. It was like Chat Noir had turned to stone.

Her cheeks immediately erupted into a bright shade of red, leaving her skin feeling hot. She felt pathetic. She felt childish. She felt exposed. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes as the shame overwhelmed her. Chat Noir was never going to look at her the same way again. Neither was anybody else when word of what she had just said potentially got out. Anybody could have been listening. Ladybug had really screwed up big time now.

"Party's over, I'm leaving." Ladybug's voice broke as she spoke, betraying the sobs that were threatening to escape from her.

Without looking back, Ladybug ran down the corridor. She pushed her way past people in the busy lobby, trying her best to hide the tears that were threatening to fall. She was grateful when she finally made her way out of the main entrance as the cold night air hit her face. Choking back her sobs just a little bit longer, Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo and made her escape. As she flew through the streets of Paris, she finally allowed the guilty, embarrassed and distressed sobs to claw their way out of her chest.

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 **I did originally intend to have this chapter uploaded yesterday, but then a load of crap happened as per usual and the chapter ended up way longer than I had intended so it took a long time to write and edit. I hope the chapter isn't** _ **too**_ **long. As always feel free to leave your opinions in a review. Reviews help me out a great deal. I hope you guys have a nice week and I'll see you soon.**


	31. Life Changing News

**Hello everyone, I hope that you're all well? Your response on the last chapter was amazing and I'm so glad that you all liked it. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your awesome reviews and for adding this story to your favourites and following it. Your support means the world to me.**

 **In other news, if you like my writing as well as Marichat, Adrienette and Ladynoir, then I have a brand new fanfiction titled** _ **Immortal Bond**_ **that you might be interested in. Feel free to check it out if you don't mind AU stories.**

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 **Chapter Thirty-One: Life Changing News**

Plagg laughed harder than Adrien had ever heard him laugh before. His kwami's loud cackles filled his whole bedroom as the little black creature rolled around on Adrien's bed, clutching his tiny stomach. Adrien meanwhile, simply sat next to the hysterical kwami and sulked. He should be elated. He should be ecstatic. Ladybug confessed her feelings to him! Yet Adrien couldn't help but be incredibly aware of the mess he was currently in, feeling completely embarrassed at not noticing Marinette's feelings for him. That explained her overly friendly gestures. It wasn't Nathaniel she liked, it was _him!_

Once his brain had finally processed everything, he had tried to catch up with Ladybug, but it was too late. She had gone. He could have just gone to her apartment, but Chat Noir wasn't supposed to know that Ladybug was Marinette. Oh, what a mess he had created. He couldn't sleep. He spent the whole night pacing his room while Plagg continued to laugh hysterically at the situation. Adrien was glad that his kwami was finding all of this so hilarious. Because Adrien certainly wasn't. He felt like tearing his hair out and smashing his head against a brick wall. How could he have been so stupid?! All of this time, she had not only been right under his nose, but returned his feelings as well!

His plan had been coming on a lot better than he had expected. Now all that was left to do was to continue nurturing those feelings and then let Marinette figure out the truth. Then they could both live happily ever after. They could be together forever. Those thoughts brought a brief, elated smile to his face before Plagg's loud, obnoxious laughter sent him crashing back down to reality once again.

"It's not funny." Adrien murmured, resting his head in his hands as he leaned forward.

"Yes…it…is!" Plagg continued to laugh, gasping for air as he struggled to speak. "Y-your face! You're…so stupid and dense!"

Adrien frowned in confusion before glaring at his laughing kwami. "You knew about this? You knew all along, didn't you?!"

Plagg's laughter died down slightly. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"I don't think there's any maybe about it. You knew Marinette was Ladybug and you knew that she had feelings for me!" Adrien began crawling across his bed, glaring at the black cat kwami who had now stopped laughing. Instead, his ears now drooped and his eyes gazed back at Adrien nervously and guiltily.

"Now Adrien, let's not be too hasty." Plagg chuckled nervously.

"I'm going to kill you!" Adrien yelled, diving for Plagg.

Plagg yelped and flew out of the way just in time. Adrien huffed as he missed his target and began frantically chasing his kwami around the room. Plagg always managed to dive out of the way just in time, leading his holder on a wild goose chase. Adrien grew more and more frustrated as Plagg flew high into the air, making Adrien resort to climbing his wall in an effort to grab him.

"Look, kid," Plagg tried to reason with his angry holder, "I was sworn to secrecy, you know that."

Adrien ignored him and leapt at him again which Plagg easily dodged.

"It's not my fault you're blind!" Plagg shrieked.

Adrien growled. "And what do you mean by that?!"

"Oh come on!" Plagg rolled his eyes. "It was so obvious that Marinette liked you. Anyone with half a brain cell could have worked it out!"

"You still should have told me!" Adrien snapped. "Do you know how much drama could have been avoided if you had just said something?!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you humans have to make a big deal out of everything!" Plagg protested angrily. "Especially you teenage humans with all your hormones and stuff. If you failed to notice that Marinette was Ladybug and that this whole time she's been in love with you, that's your fault, not mine. I'm here to help transform you and grant you powers. That's it. My involvement ends there. I don't care about anything else."

Adrien paused and frowned, Plagg's words slicing through him like a knife.

"So that's all I am to you?" Adrien questioned. "Just your holder? Someone who you grant power to?"

"Whoa, hey, I didn't mean it like that!" Plagg quickly backtracked in panic. "You're twisting my words."

"I heard you loud and clear, Plagg." Adrien's frown deepened as he clenched his hands into fists.

Plagg huffed and folded his arms across his chest. "Look kid, the reason I didn't tell you is because kwamis aren't supposed to interfere with this sort of thing, especially regarding the identity of another hero. That secret can easily be extracted by someone, no matter how much someone may pride themselves on their will power to keep a secret. This isn't a matter of will power. It's a matter of magic. It can easily be extracted from you by magical means. By finding out Ladybug's identity how and when you did, you've placed you and her in great danger. Most Ladybugs and Chat Noirs reveal each other's identity when they know most of the danger has passed and when they're starting out lives together. I can't interfere too much in the personal lives of my holders. All kwamis can do is obey their human masters and grant them power. It's not because I don't care about you. In fact the reason I didn't tell you was because…because…I… _care about you._ "

Adrien's eyes widened. "You…care about me? I'm not just some disposable Chat Noir?"

Plagg growled. "You need to quit thinking that, kid."

Adrien sighed sadly and looked down. "Your actions don't exactly match your words."

"Being an immortal being is difficult, kid. I've loved, watched over and lost so many Chat Noirs over many millennia. I try not to get attached too much, but…it never works."

"Plagg…I'm sorry…I never thought…"

Plagg waved him off. "It's okay, Adrien. Now where's my camembert?"

Adrien rolled his eyes before looking out of his window. He needed to think. He needed some fresh air to help clear his mind that was intoxicated with nothing but Marinette and Ladybug. He needed to carefully plan his next move. What was he going to do? Ask Marinette out? Despite knowing that she liked him back, that thought still made him nervous. There was too much going on inside his head lately and it was currently making him dizzy. Some fresh air was definitely what he needed.

"Come on, Plagg." Adrien sighed as he heaved himself towards his bedroom door, ignoring the loud groan his kwami gave, annoyed that he couldn't be a gluttonous slob all morning like he had probably been expecting. "We're going for a walk."

.

The warm sun shone directly onto Marinette's face through her window as she remained curled up in bed. She hadn't slept. All she could do was lie there while the most terrible thoughts ran through her head. She had completely and utterly humiliated herself. Not to mention, likely deeply hurt Chat Noir in the process. Marinette felt like a heartless monster. She would have thought that she would learn her lesson by now. That she wouldn't be greedy and desire Chat Noir like she did. Adrien was her everything; he should be enough. Yet Marinette selfishly felt something for Chat Noir as well. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was enough to make her stupidly kiss him. Now Chat Noir was likely thinking about how pathetic she was for having feelings for a famous celebrity. He was probably thinking about how shallow she was.

Marinette groaned and clutched one of her cushions tighter to her chest. Tikki hadn't said much after the whole incident. The little kwami simply settled on one of Marinette's shelves next to her bed and just waited for Marinette to get everything out of her system. Honestly, Tikki's reactions made it hurt even more. Where was the shouting? Why wasn't Tikki scolding her for what she had done? She had possibly just compromised her identity to Chat Noir, by revealing the name of the boy she liked. It was what Marinette had expected the instant she had made it back into her room to transform back.

The party had been a complete disaster and it was all her fault. She had taken her eye off the mission, easily letting herself become distracted by Chat Noir and then stupidly left when something dangerous could have happened. Marinette was a terrible Ladybug. She didn't know how or why Tikki put up with her. All she ever did was screw up and put people in even more danger. She was a walking disaster. How was she going to look Chat Noir in the eye now after what had happened? Now that he thought that she was some pathetic fangirl who obsessed over a famous model. Would he ever take her seriously again?

"Marinette," Tikki's voice finally interrupted Marinette's thoughts, "It's nearly midday, you can't lay in bed all day. You've got to confront this."

"What? Just for me to screw up again?" Marinette replied shakily, fighting back a fresh round of tears.

Tikki sighed. "Marinette, you haven't screwed up. Yeah, it was a little stupid that you revealed the name of someone you love, but Chat Noir is just as much at fault for trying to pressure it out of you."

"Only because I kept hurting him." Marinette whimpered.

"I'm sure Chat Noir is mature enough to handle it." Tikki explained. "You're partners. You need to move past this and work together to defeat Hawkmoth. You can't let emotions and quarrels get in the way of your duty."

Marinette sat up slightly, wiping her tear stained cheeks with her fingers. "Tikki?" She asked. "Do you think I'm a terrible Ladybug?"

Tikki's blue eyes widened. "Where's all this coming from?"

"I just feel like all I ever do is mess things up. I cause akumas, I hurt Chat Noir, I make stupid mistakes and put people in even more danger. I can't figure out who Hawkmoth is and I can't figure out what's going on with these shadow creatures. I'm a useless superhero!" Marinette ranted, bursting into tears again before burying her face in her knees which she had brought up to her chest.

Tikki sighed again. "Marinette," She began softly, moving down to tap the exposed skin of Marinette's cheek in a gesture of comfort, "You're not a useless superhero. Everybody makes mistakes and nobody is perfect. That's what makes you human. There's no such thing as perfection and you need to stop striving for that. Sure, you make mistakes, but what matters is how you go about fixing those mistakes."

Marinette sniffed. "I'm still probably the worst Ladybug you've ever had."

Tikki rolled her eyes. "Would you stop trying to compare yourself? Every Ladybug is different and there aren't ones that are better than others. Each one has a unique way of getting the job done. It doesn't make one way correct and one incorrect. As long as they do their best to make the world a better place, just as the miraculous are designed for, that's what matters most. And you do that Marinette. You take your job as Ladybug seriously and think of all the people you have saved. Without you, Hawkmoth would have likely got hold of the miraculous by now. I've never seen anyone try as hard as you do."

"You're not just saying that?" Marinette peered out from her hiding place and raised a suspicious eyebrow at her small, red kwami companion.

"Of course I'm not!" Tikki exclaimed before talking more calmly. "Things with Chat Noir will work out and you will find and defeat Hawkmoth. Sometimes things just take time. The universe works in mysterious and wonderful ways. You just have to keep trying and never give up."

Marinette sighed and was about to lay back down again and pull the covers over her head when the sound of her door opening caught her attention. Tikki quickly hid just as Marinette's mother's head popped into view. Sabine's grey eyes looked tired and incredibly nervous when they caught sight of Marinette sitting the middle of her bed. Sabine looked away before looking back again, this time plastering a neutral mask on her face which had Marinette raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"Marinette, get dressed," Sabine said sternly, "Your father and I have something important we need to talk to you about downstairs."

"Ummm – right. Okay." Marinette replied nervously.

Without another word, Sabine closed Marinette's bedroom door, leaving the now nervous hero alone with her kwami again. Tikki reappeared again, staring at the space Sabine had been in confusion.

"What do you suppose this is all about?" Tikki asked.

"No idea." Marinette frowned. "But maybe I'm finally going to get some answers."

With that possibility firmly planted in her mind, Marinette quickly leapt down from her bed and began getting dressed. Once she was done getting ready, she stared at her bedroom door, afraid to go downstairs. She may have wanted answers, but now that the time seemed to be here, she wasn't so sure she wanted to hear them. Marinette knew it couldn't be anything good. Her mother was terrible at hiding her emotions and it was very clear that something was wrong. What if…what if her parents _were_ getting divorced? Was someone ill? Had something bad happened? Marinette's heart leapt into her mouth as the anxious thoughts began to consume her. A sinking feeling overwhelmed her and her instincts had never screamed at her as loudly as they were now. Because of that, it was like every sense of Marinette's suddenly heightened. She could just about hear her parents whispering among themselves in the living room beneath her.

But this is what she had wanted. She had wanted answers. To know why her parents had been behaving so strangely lately. Now it looked like she was finally going to find out. Then whatever was bothering them, maybe Marinette could find a way to help them. They were her parents. She loved them and would always stand by them.

Putting on a brave face, Marinette opened her bedroom door as Tikki hid in her jacket pocket. Slowly, Marinette climbed down the stairs, each step felt like she was in a slow motion dream where she moved as if she was underwater. Everything felt surreal. Nothing felt right. It was like Marinette had suddenly emerged into a parallel universe where everything was the same, but it all felt wrong. Like she was a puzzle piece that couldn't quite fit into her slot in the universe. Something deep down within Marinette was trying to tell her something, but Marinette couldn't quite hear or understand what it was trying to say. All she knew was that something was very wrong.

She finally reached the bottom step and walked into the living room where her parents were sat down on the sofa. Sabine was cuddled into Tom's side as usual, both of them gripping each other's hands tightly with grave expressions on their faces. Marinette stood still and waited for them to say something. Her parents stared at her with an expression that she couldn't quite fathom. Was it guilt? Fear? It looked like a weird concoction of every negative emotion in existence. That just made her all the more nervous. She had never seen her parents look like this before.

Sabine then looked to Tom who nodded at her and Marinette followed this exchange in confusion.

"Marinette, honey, you might want to sit down." Sabine suggested, nodding to the smaller couch next to where Marinette was standing.

Marinette slowly obeyed and sat down, never once taking her eyes off her parents. "There's something wrong, I know there is." Marinette's voice shook with fear. "Are you going to explain to me why you've been acting so weird lately?"

Sabine and Tom exchanged a glance.

Finally, Sabine sighed and turned back to look at Marinette. "We're moving away, Marinette."

Marinette blinked. "W-what?"

"I said we're moving away. Out of Paris. Out of France."

"B-but why?!" Marinette exclaimed in shock.

"Because…" Sabine trailed off slightly, her voice shaking before she regained some composure again. "Because things aren't working out for us here. I think it's time for us to make a fresh start. Somewhere far away from here."

"Where?!" Marinette demanded, standing up in anger.

"I…I can't tell you at the moment." Sabine struggled to explain. "You'll know when you get there. Doesn't that make it more exciting?" Sabine tried to sound happy, but she wasn't fooling Marinette.

Marinette's eye twitched in horror as she tried to process the bombshell that had just been dropped on her. Things weren't working out? What the heck was that supposed to mean?! And why won't her mother tell her where they're going?! What was Marinette going to do?! She was Paris' superhero, she couldn't just leave and disappear. What about her school? Her friends? Chat Noir? Adrien? This wasn't fair. Hadn't they considered Marinette through any of this? Her parents loved Paris. At least, they always made out they had. They had a successful small family business here. A cosy apartment that was just a stone's throw away from the centre of Paris. Marinette went to a good school. They had an amazing life here, so what gives? Marinette could feel herself panicking as she realised the weight of what was going on. This could jepodise everything! Put Paris, France and maybe even the world in danger. How she was supposed to protect the city and fight Hawkmoth if she wasn't here?!

"And you expect me to just go along with this? When you won't properly tell me the reason why or where we're going?!" Marinette shrieked as tears began cascading down her cheeks before she had time to stop them. Her parents looked like they were close to tears as well, though why, Marinette didn't know seen as they seemed so hell bent on doing this.

"Think of it as like an adventure." Tom tried his best to smile.

"What about the bakery?" Marinette demanded, trying to find any excuse to try and save them from moving away.

Sabine and Tom exchanged another glance.

"Actually Marinette," Sabine sighed as she clung on to her husband's hand even tighter, "It'll just be you and me that are leaving for now. Your father is going to stay here until he can figure something out regarding the bakery."

"What do you mean?" Marinette gasped. "Surely he can figure something out before we leave? It's not as if we're leaving tomorrow."

Sabine bit her lip and looked down.

Marinette's eyes widened and she stumbled back slightly. " _No_. No, please don't tell me we _are_ leaving tomorrow."

"I'm afraid we are." Sabine whispered, unable to look her daughter in the eye.

"But this doesn't make any sense?!" Marinette began crying. "What about school? What about my friends?! And if we're moving to another country, I can't speak any other language!"

"You'll enroll in a new school and make new friends." Tom tried his best to encourage her.

"And you can easily learn a new language. It didn't take me that long to learn French when I came over here. If you study hard enough, learning a new language isn't so bad." Sabine looked back up again.

"Don't I get any say in this?!" Marinette shrieked, flailing her arms around in anger and betrayal. "This is my life too and I love it here! I can't just pick up and leave my friends! Especially when I have no idea where it even is we're going. You're being completely unfair on me!"

"I know honey, please try and calm down." Sabine begged. "I know it may seem like we're being unfair, but we're doing this for you. It's for the best."

"For _me?!_ How is picking me up and taking me away from everything I've ever known something that's _for the best?!_ " Marinette screamed. She had never felt so angry in her entire life. This was so much worse than anything she could have expected. How _could_ she have expected this? This was so out of character for her parents. Was there something more to this than they were letting on? Marinette couldn't help but sense that there was, but what could it be? And if there was, why weren't they telling her?! Her parents never hid anything from her. They were always honest people. Even as a child, they had always told her the truth. That's why Marinette loved them so much and respected them as much as she did. Because she felt like she could trust them. But now…now she felt like she didn't even know them anymore.

How could this be happening?! How could they do this to her?!

"I'm not going!" Marinette yelled stubbornly. "You can't make me!"

Sabine sighed. "As your parents, I think you'll find we can."

"But this isn't fair!" Marinette continued to scream. "You can't take me away from my friends and everything I've ever known! Have you even properly considered me in any of this?! Why did you keep it all a secret and not tell me earlier?! Why leave it until the day before?! That's even more sick! I…I…I can't even talk to you right now!" Marinette yelled before storming towards the front door.

"Marinette, no, wait!" Both her parents pleaded at the same time.

But it was too late. Marinette had already slammed the door behind her and had began running down the stairs. She burst out of the main bakery entrance, struggling to breathe as she continued to panic. Ignoring the panicked sensation in her chest, Marinette ran towards the park, hiding behind a bush while she watched the bakery, her home, from a distance. Her parents came running out after her and were looking around frantically. The worry on their faces had Marinette feeling slightly guilty, but she quickly pushed that feeling away.

How could they do this to her? How could they treat her this way? How could they expect her to just happily go along with all of this and not at least get upset? They were taking her away from everything she knew. Making her abandon her friends. Taking her away from a school she was settled in. Taking her away from her most paramount responsibility. Not that they knew that last part.

Marinette knew she needed to find a way out of this. She couldn't leave Paris. The city needed her. She was Ladybug and had sworn to protect all of them. Sworn to defeat Hawkmoth. She couldn't leave Chat Noir all on his own. They were partners and they were supposed to handle this together. Not to mention there was the added worry of those shadow creatures. She couldn't leave Chat Noir alone to face them. Apart, they would both be exposed. Ladybug and Chat Noir were weakened when they weren't together from what Master Fu had told her. Ladybug had experienced it first hand whenever Chat Noir was late to appear. She struggled to handle everything on her own. This really was a dire situation that Marinette now found herself in; she needed to do something to stop it!

Peering through the leaves again, Marinette could see her parents hastily talking to each other and looking very panicked stricken. Why? Marinette was practically almost an adult now, so what was so frightening about her being out here on her own like this? It seemed they had both planned to split up and look for her as they both went running off in different directions. Luckily it seemed that neither of them planned on heading this way anytime soon so Marinette took a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

She slowly began walking along the pathway of the park, not paying attention to where she was going. The sky was now cloudy, casting everywhere in permanent shadow that perfectly reflected Marinette's current mood. How the heck was she going to get out of this situation? Her parents seemed firm in their decision to blow their daughter's life apart.

"You shouldn't have run off like that Marinette." Marinette heard Tikki whisper to her from inside her jacket pocket.

"I just had to get out." Marinette hissed between clenched teeth. She ran her fingers through her hair and gripped the dark strands tightly. She tugged at her hair as she struggled to contain the sobs that were threatening to break their way out of her chest. Her throat felt like it was closing up, rendering her unable to breathe. Hot tears of pain and betrayal burned her eyes and Marinette really struggled to not burst into tears in the middle of a public place. She would have looked insane.

Marinette forced herself to keep walking though, despite being rendered practically blind by the tears in her eyes that she was trying to prevent from falling. Surely today couldn't get any worse than this? Was there any other bombshell that somebody wanted to drop on her? There were so many people she needed to tell today before her parents made her disappear forever. Alya, Nino and all of her other classmates. Then there was Nina. Now her parents had really screwed up her opportunities to work in the fashion industry. It was all becoming too much to bear. All the goodbyes she would have to make. She definitely needed to talk to Chat Noir at some point too. Maybe he could think of a way to get her out of this situation or they could at least come up with a plan to make this whole hero thing work? But Marinette knew she was just clutching at straws at this point.

What if there was no coming back from this? No changing her parents' minds? No fixing the situation? What if this was really the end of life as she knew it? Images of herself starting a new life in a strange country, in a strange city that spoke a language Marinette couldn't understand began swarming inside her mind. Starting a strange school full of strange people who Marinette would never be able to relate to. There would be no Alya to sit next to and brighten her day and support her. No Nino and his catchy music that she could listen in and dance to through his loud headphone speakers. Heck, even no Chloé to make her life a misery. And worst of all…no Adrien.

Marinette yelped as she felt her body collide with something relatively soft in front of her. In her haste to get away from whatever she had crashed into, she stumbled backwards and lost her balance. Marinette braced herself for impact with the hard ground and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, tensing her body up. But nothing happened. Instead, Marinette felt warm arms wrap around her waist and keep her steady.

Slowly and feeling embarrassed, Marinette opened her eyes. Her embarrassment instantly grew to be a thousand times worse when she realised who it was that she had crashed into and who had caught her. Her face immediately turned bright red and Marinette forced back a shudder at the feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist. Adrien's green eyes gazed down at her, full of concern. In her desperation to maintain her balance, Marinette had stopped focusing on keeping her tears from falling. Now they were streaming down her face, likely making her look like an embarrassing mess.

"Oh my gosh, Adrien, I'm so sorry!" Marinette apologised as quickly as she could. "I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"It's alright." Adrien tried his best to give her a reassuring smile. "I wasn't looking where I was going either, so I'm sorry too."

Marinette looked down and bit her lip, trying to hide her tears from Adrien.

"Listen, Mari, there's…there's something I need to tell – Marinette, what's wrong?!" Adrien gasped.

Damn, she hadn't hid them well enough.

"Oh…it's…it's…it's nothing." Marinette then couldn't contain it anymore. She began crying and sobbing more than she had ever done so in her entire life. A startled Adrien wrapped his arms tighter around her and stared at her with wide eyes that were full of nothing but worry. This only made Marinette cry even more.

Through her tears and uncontrollable sobbing, Marinette was only acutely aware of Adrien leading her away from the more public area of the park to sit on her down on a far off bench that was pretty well hidden from everyone else. Adrien helped her sit down and kept an arm wrapped around her shoulder while he waited for her to get it all out of her system. But it just wouldn't seem to stop. Marinette just kept crying an endless amount of tears. Her eyes and throat were beginning to grow sore from all of her sobbing, so Marinette tried her best to try and stop.

After a while, the tears did eventually begin to die down and Marinette felt like she could breathe properly again. All the while, Adrien had been patiently waiting beside her, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around her, rubbing soothing circles into her own arm.

"What's wrong, Marinette?" Adrien finally asked gently when she had calmed down enough.

Marinette whimpered. "It's my parents…they…they want us to move away. Out of France."

Marinette peaked up at Adrien through her eyelashes just in time to see Adrien go completely pale. Marinette never thought it was possible when people said they saw the colour drain from someone's face, but she had now witnessed it first-hand. It turns out that it was in fact possible. His whole body went rigid and Marinette was about to ask if he was okay when Adrien spoke before she could.

"W-what? Why? When?" Adrien asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"Tomorrow." Marinette replied shakily. "And I don't know why, they won't tell me. They just said things aren't working out and that they think we need a fresh start. I don't want to go, Adrien! I don't know what to do! They won't listen to me!"

"Sssh, it's okay." Adrien soothed her, but Marinette could detect an edge of panic in his voice. "I'm sure there will be a way to sort this out."

Another whimper escaped Marinette's mouth as she stared at the love of her life. The realisation hit her like a ton of bricks that this may be the last time that she ever saw Adrien in person. She was being cruelly torn away from the love of her life and she never even had a chance to try and make things work with him. She had never gotten a chance to tell him how she felt about him. Soon it would be too late and she would never see him again. It was only these past few weeks that they had begun to grow close to each other. To properly get to know each other. It was too little, too late.

Adrien and Marinette both froze as they stared at each other. Marinette's eyes scanned his face, desperate to memorise every single detail so that she would never forget. Her heart was aching furiously in her chest and once again, Marinette found herself drawn to him as if he was a magnet. Her eyes darted down to his lips and Marinette found herself unable to look away. This was her one and only chance.

Then, without a second thought, as if it was second nature to her, Marinette closed the gap between them and pressed her lips fiercely and desperately against his.

* * *

 **Another chapter that I had to split in half. Things are really heating up. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter and feel free to let me know what you thought in a review. It always immensely helps me out when you take the time to do so. I hope that you all have an amazing week and I'll see you guys soon. If all goes well, my next update should be this coming Friday.**


	32. Oxymoron

**Hi everyone and thank you so much for the awesome reviews as always! Man, I really had you guys freaking out with that last chapter. Your reviews make for very entertaining reads and I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this story. I really can't thank you guys enough for all of your wonderful support!**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Two: Oxymoron**

Marinette still couldn't barely register what she was doing. All she knew was that she needed to feel his lips against hers. Lips that felt and tasted so familiar, comforting her in her hour of most intense need. It was like something had possessed her. Forcing her to close that gap between them and finally get a taste of what she had been craving since that rainy afternoon with the umbrella that happened so long ago now. The time for waiting and biding her time was over. Marinette felt like she needed to do this. However, the rational side of her brain soon caught up with her subconscious, screaming at her for having done something so stupid. For giving into temptation and throwing herself at the guy of her dreams.

 _Oh no! What had she done?!_

Abruptly, Marinette pulled away, her face a deep shade of red and her eyes wide as saucers. Adrien looked just as startled as he stared back at with the exact same facial expression. This was it. She had ruined everything between them forever. All because of her selfish needs in that moment. She had practically assaulted him by throwing herself at him like that. How desperate and pathetic must she look right now?

Marinette gasped and was about to flee, but Adrien grabbed hold of her forearms, keeping her sat in place. Marinette didn't think it was possible for someone's heart to beat as fast as hers was doing right now. It felt like her most precious organ might give out at any moment. She wanted Adrien to take her rapidly beating heart. It was his, yet he never claimed it. So Marinette had been constantly left with a heart that did not belong to her. Even now, it no longer felt right being in her chest. It felt foreign. That's because it wasn't her heart anymore. It was Adrien's. She had nothing that perfectly fit the gaping hole inside her chest. Now it seemed like that gaping hole was only going to get wider. Adrien was going to reject her – rightfully so. Marinette had no idea what she had been thinking.

"A-Adrien…I…" Marinette stuttered, not knowing what to say in order to save this situation. Tears spilled out from her eyes, gushing down her cheeks like two great waterfalls. Her face continued to burn red hot with embarrassment and all Marinette wanted to do was flee. To get away from what she had done. Adrien _would_ be better off never seeing her again if this is how she behaved around him.

However, when Marinette tried to get up and run away again, Adrien still held her firmly in place.

"No." He frowned. "I'm not letting you run away. Not again."

Before Marinette had the chance to ask him what he had meant by that, soft lips covered her own, silencing her. Marinette's lips remained still as she sat there in a shocked and confused state. But it wasn't too long until she melted against him and her eyes fluttered closed in bliss. Adrien kissed her softly, being gentle with her and giving her time to get used to what was happening. She was kissing Adrien? _She was kissing Adrien Agreste!_ She had pulled away, but he had pulled her back!

Her thought soon turned to complete mush though as, unable to resist for much longer, they both deepened the kiss as Marinette tilted her head to the side. Adrien's hands slipped from her forearms to her waist, pulling her closer to him. Despite there being virtually no space between them any longer, it still didn't feel like they were close enough. Marinette's fingers weaved themselves through Adrien's golden blond locks, pinning his face to hers, hoping that this moment would never end. Their tongues gently and sensually explored each other's mouths. Marinette's tears mixed in with the kiss, making Adrien's lips taste slightly salty. Everything about this moment felt so right…yet so familiar…

Unfortunately, they both soon had to pull back for air, though their faces didn't stray too far from each other's as they both panted. Marinette's eyes half opened, intoxicated by Adrien's scent and the taste of him on her lips. This moment was better than anything Marinette could have ever dreamed of. Adrien had kissed her! All of her dreams were coming true. However, reality always had a way of sending Marinette crashing back down to earth with a painful bump. She remembered why she had kissed him in the first place. Had Adrien only kissed her back to make her feel better? Did he have feelings for her as she did for him?

Words became stuck in Marinette's throat as Adrien pulled further back slightly to smile softly at her. His hands moved up to cup her cheeks and he chuckled as Marinette stared back at him with wide confused eyes. Gently, Adrien stroked away the tears that had stained her cheeks with his fingers. Marinette shuddered under his feather light touch, her mind turning into an incoherent mess when she caught sight of the intense look in Adrien's eyes. Was this a dream? Had Marinette banged her head and fallen into a coma and this was some weird limbo dream where everything she desired was coming to pass?

"I…I…I don't…" Marinette tried to speak, but the words became a jumbled mess just like her brain currently was.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting to do that?" Adrien's blissful smile widened.

"W-what?" Marinette gasped. "Y-you mean all this time…well this is just GREAT!" Marinette abruptly stood up, making Adrien jump, before she began pacing in front of the park bench. Adrien stared up at her in panic and confusion while Marinette muttered to herself.

"All this time and now at the last minute when I'm supposed to be moving away, things finally start working out for me. And yet, I could have had you a long time ago!" Marinette gasped out.

Adrien chuckled, grabbing hold of Marinette's hand, stopping her in her tracks before he pulled her back down to sit next to him again. He laced his fingers between her own and Marinette stared down at their intertwined hands with rosy pink cheeks. Their fingers slotted so perfectly together and Marinette couldn't help but smile at how nicely their skin contrasted against each other's. At how his larger hand practically swallowed up her tiny one. His hand was warm and comforting, fitting around hers like the most perfect glove, keeping her warm and safe from the elements.

"I love you, Marinette." Adrien's voice was barely above a whisper.

"W-what?" Marinette stuttered, her heart exploding as her brain shut down, struggling to process what he had just said to her.

Adrian chuckled again. "I love you, Marinette."

"One more time." Marinette struggled to contain the huge grin forming on her face.

Adrien laughed before speaking seriously again. " _I love you, Marinette._ "

"I-I love you too!" Marinette squealed before launching herself at him. This had to be a dream. There was no way this was reality. Any second now, Marinette was going to wake up. But she didn't care. She was going to enjoy this amazing moment while it lasted. She crashed her lips back against Adrien's which shocked him again at first, but he quickly responded by kissing her back and wrapping his arms around her, pressing her body against his. They kissed each other passionately, savouring every moment together until they once again had to pull apart for air.

Reality came crashing back down on Marinette, causing her heart to lurch in her chest. If they now both had feelings for each other, what were they going to do? They couldn't exactly start dating now that Marinette was apparently moving to who knows where. No! Things were even worse now because now her parents were tearing her away from the love of her life who it turns out, actually loves her back. They were ruining every chance of Marinette's happiness. A good job with Nina Couture, good friends who were always there for her and now an amazing relationship with a boy she had been in love with for years.

Adrien frowned when he caught sight of the worried look on Marinette's face. "What is it?"

"What are we going to do?" Marinette looked at him in horror. "I leave tomorrow and I don't know where I'm going or if I'll ever see or hear from you again."

"You will." Adrien gently reassured her. "I'm not giving up on you."

"But I can't expect you to –"

"Marinette, it's okay." Adrien smiled at her, though Marinette could tell he was trying to put a brave face on. She could see the pain behind his eyes. Could see his mind ticking away, trying to figure out a way for them to be together when all the odds were stacked against them. "We'll think of something." He added, looking determined.

"And if we don't?" Marinette replied, worriedly.

"We will. I love you and I refuse to lose you." Adrien sounded so confident and sure that it did succeed in making Marinette feel slightly better. He pulled her into a tight embrace and Marinette buried her face into his chest, breathing in his comforting scent. She clung onto his shirt for dear life, wishing that she would never have to be parted from him. She wanted to stay in his arms like this forever. Never moving. Never having to leave.

But there were still other people she needed to speak to. She could meet up with Adrien later tonight or something so they could spend a last few hours together. Right now she knew she needed to find some way of getting in touch with Chat Noir. He was the next person on her list who definitely needed to know about what was going on. The quicker she got these conversations over with, the sooner she could spend time with Adrien again.

"As much as I don't want to move," Marinette mumbled into Adrien's chest, "There's a few other people I need to talk to about this."

"Of course." Adrien agreed, releasing her.

Marinette didn't want to pull away. She wanted to stay in Adrien's arms forever. But she managed to force herself to pull back slightly and she gazed at Adrien miserably. Adrien offered her a reassuring smile, holding her hands tightly in his own. Marinette's eyes scanned every inch of his face, desperate to remember this moment forever. She wished their first kiss had been under happier circumstances, but she couldn't bring herself to regret it. It was what had led to her finding out that Adrien loved her back after all. She knew she would have regretted not doing it. Afterwards, she would have been constantly bombarded by the question of 'what if?' Doomed to never know Adrien's true feelings towards her.

"I should be heading off anyway, I left to go for a walk this morning to clear my head and I don't want my father sending out a search party for me." Adrien explained and Marinette nodded in understand.

Adrien leaned down to peck her lips one last time, lingering slightly before pulling away. "We will sort this." He vowed to her and Marinette nodded, not convinced, but happy that he was trying to reassure her. He was so sweet and kind and amazing. How could her parents want to take her away from this? This whole situation just didn't feel right. That thought kept nagging Marinette from the back of her head. Something was very wrong somewhere. There was more to this than meets the eye. There was something that her parents weren't telling her. Why would they just turn around like this and tell her that they were moving away and then not tell her where they were moving to. They clearly didn't want Marinette to know where they were going. What was the big secret about where they were moving to? Did they not want Marinette to tell people? Were they running away from something?

Marinette's thoughts were interrupted by Adrien giving her hands one final squeeze before he reluctantly let go. Marinette sighed as she watched him walk away, back in the direction of the Agreste mansion. Oh how she wished she could spend more time with him. But she needed to talk things over with Chat Noir. He was smart, maybe he could figure something out. There had to be a way to get out of this.

Finally, Adrien disappeared from her view and Marinette slouched in the park bench just as Tikki peeked out of her purse. Marinette glanced down at her kwami, looking and feeling completely fed up as she did so. She could still feel the ghost of Adrien's lips against hers. Her lips tingled with the sensation. Her hands still felt warm from how his hands engulfed her own. She really wasn't in the mood for any lectures from Tikki.

"Don't start, Tikki," Marinette sighed, "I'm not in the mood."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Tikki sighed. "I'm sorry for scolding you for running off. I just think you should have stayed to question your parents some more. Even I'll admit that this whole situation is rather odd."

"Really?" Marinette raised an eyebrow at her kwami.

"It sounds to me like your parents might be trying to run away from something." Tikki frowned, deep in thought.

Marinette's eyes widened. "That's exactly what I was thinking. But the question is, if they are running away from something, what is it?"

"I don't know, Marinette." Tikki said worriedly. "That's why I think you should have stayed and tried to get some more information out of them."

Marinette snorted. "Yeah, like they'd tell me. Whatever's going on, my mom and dad clearly want to keep me in the dark. I guess I'm just going to have to find out for myself!" Marinette stood up, clenching her fist in determination.

"That's the spirit!" Tikki praised.

"Because there's no way I can abandon Paris. Not with Hawkmoth still out there somewhere. Not with those weird shadow creatures on the loose. I promised Paris that Ladybug would always be there to protect them and I'm not about to break that promise. Whatever my parents are running from, I can find a way to help them. I'm not leaving!" Marinette continued.

"I'm sure there's a way out of this situation." Tikki agreed.

"I can't leave Paris. I can't leave my friends. I can't leave Chat Noir. I can't leave… _Adrien._ " Marinette sighed dreamily as she said his name. She still couldn't believe what had happened. It was astonishing that she hadn't woken up yet, groaning once she had realised it had all just been a dream. Adrien had kissed her! He admitted that he loved her! How could this day be so bad yet so amazing at the same time? This whole day was like some giant oxymoron. She couldn't believe she had kissed Adrien.

"Tikki, I kissed Adrien!" Marinette began to squeal.

The red kwami rolled her eyes.

"Tikki, I kissed Adrien and he said he loved me!"

"I'm happy for you, Marinette." Tikki smiled, shaking her head as she watched her holder happily freak out.

"He said he loved me. He really said those words! I can't believe it!"

"Marinette!" Tikki yelled. "Focus!"

"Right." Marinette shook her head in an attempt to snap herself out of it. "I've gotta go and find Chat Noir."

"Let's go!" Tikki urged. "Spots on, Marinette."

"Ssssh." Marinette hushed her kwami as she frowned and ducked behind a nearby bush that was blocking the main part of the park's view of the bench she had previously been sat on. Marinette peered through the leaves as Tikki hid back in her pink purse. She knew it. She knew that she had heard her mother's voice. Her mother looked flushed and out of breath as she looked frantically around the park. Marinette stayed hidden though. There was no way she could talk to her parents right now. Not when she urgently needed to speak with Chat Noir.

Her father then came running into the park and met up with her mother, both of them stopping a few feet away from the bush that Marinette was hiding behind. Marinette strained her ears to listen to their conversation. They both looked exhausted and incredibly worried which once again had Marinette feeling guilty. She hated to see her parents in this state and wondered what had them so desperate to move away and not tell her where they were going? But she couldn't reveal herself. Her priority was Chat Noir and then maybe he could help her with the issue with her parents.

"I can't find her anywhere!" Sabine cried out, chewing on her nails worriedly as she stared around the park. "What if she finds her first?"

"Don't talk like that." Tom replied, sounding just as scared.

"I can't believe we're having to go through this all over again. Emilie had told us that she was dead! She died on that mountain years ago! How could Emilie have gotten that wrong?" Sabine began crying and Tom wrapped his arms around his wife, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "She killed him, Tom. She used him and she killed him. I won't let the same thing happen to –"

"Sssh, people will hear you." Tom hushed his wife as gently as he could.

"All the secrets. All the lies." Sabine whimpered.

"It was for the best." Tom sighed.

Marinette frowned. There they went, talking about weird subjects again. Marinette wished she could pick a moment to listen in where they weren't being so frustratingly vague. They were talking about _killing?!_ Who killed who? What awful thing had her parents gotten themselves tangled up in. Okay, it was certain now that her parents definitely needed her help. They didn't have to leave Paris. Marinette could take on whoever had them so frightened. Then they would never have to leave. Marinette could stay in Paris as Ladybug. Could stay at her school, in her home, with her friends and with Adrien. Taking on a simple, powerless human who was scaring them should be a piece of cake.

"We still can't tell her though." Sabine insisted.

"Why not?" Tom asked incredulously.

"It was what Emilie wanted. She didn't want the things foretold to come to pass." Sabine sniffed, trying her best to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I don't even want to think about that."

Tom sighed. "Well, she has to be somewhere. Maybe call some of her friends and ask if they've seen her?"

"Right. I'll do that and check near the Eiffel Tower again. I know she likes to hang out around there." Sabine nodded, pulling out her phone.

"I'll look back at home in case she went back there." Tom said. They both nodded to each other before parting ways again.

Marinette let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. She felt physically sick. What on earth were her parents talking about? Were these the same people that had raised her all these years? All of a sudden they were planning on fleeing the country with Marinette and talking about _killing?_ Marinette had been right that there was something wrong, she just never expected anything of this magnitude. But she would have to confront her parents on that later. Right now she needed Chat Noir's help.

Once she was certain that her parents were gone and that no one was watching, Marinette summoned her transformation. Tikki was sucked into her earrings and in a burst of pink light, Marinette was now Ladybug. Being in her superhero suit gave her more confidence that things might turn out for the best. That she could find some way to get out of moving out of France and stay. That she could fix whatever her parents had gotten themselves involved in. One thing was for certain though: she would likely never be able to look at her parents the same way again. Knowing that they had been keeping secrets from her…that they had involved themselves in something so serious. Her parents had always looked so innocent and non-threatened and there they were engaged in some sort of conspiracy. Marinette guessed that the old saying was right: it was always the quiet ones.

Ladybug grabbed hold of her yo-yo and opened her communicator. What surprised her was that Chat Noir was also currently transformed. Ladybug had expected that she would have to leave a message and wait for a few hours for Chat Noir to receive it and then meet up with her. Ladybug shrugged it off though and just thanked her lucky stars that she could quickly get this over and done with. This could hopefully give them more time to come up with a plan.

"Chat Noir, I really need to talk to you." Ladybug spoke into her communicator. "Meet me in the usual place."

"Be right there my lady." Chat Noir replied seriously and Ladybug could hear the sound of him running and gliding through the air.

Ladybug hung up and launched her yo-yo forward, hooking it around a lamppost and pulled, sending herself flying through the air at amazing speed. She glided gracefully through the city. A city that was soon to no longer be her home. No. She was going to find a way out of this. There had to be a way out of this. She couldn't just give up. She was Ladybug. She had to find some way to stay and continue to protect the city. The people of Paris needed her. They were counting on her and Ladybug couldn't let them down.

Soon enough, Ladybug landed in her usual meeting place for when her and Chat Noir patrolled the city. The Eiffel Tower stood tall in the distance and Marinette stared at it with sad eyes. Maybe this would be the last time she would ever see it. It looked like the sun would be setting soon, so Ladybug didn't have long left to try and figure things out and put a stop to it. Her mother would likely want to leave in the morning. Which meant that Ladybug only had the rest of today to try and come up with a plan to stay and help her parents. No pressure at all then. Ladybug had gotten herself out of worse situations, so surely there had to be a way out of this?

However, Ladybug was soon brought out of her thoughts by the sound of someone landing on the roof behind her. She twisted around to see Chat Noir sat in a cat-like position on the elevated roof behind him, smiling down at her. It was good to see he wasn't feeling too awful after what happened last night. Ladybug shook her head. She needed to forget about that. Right now, she had more pressing issues that she needed to deal with.

"What a purr-leasant surprise, my lady." Chat Noir joked, though for some reason, his eyes were serious. It was like he was putting on an act. "I didn't expect to see you out and about tonight."

"Chat, I'm in some serious trouble." Ladybug admitted, beginning to panic even more.

Chat Noir frowned in confusion, though behind his green eyes, he looked extremely worried. "What's wrong?"

"M-my parents, they want to move away and are taking me with them. Tomorrow." Ladybug explained.

"What? To where?" Chat asked.

"I don't know!" Ladybug exclaimed, close to tears again. "They just said out of France. Oh, Chat! What am I going to do? I can't be Ladybug if I'm not in France! And I can't tell my parents that I'm Ladybug as it would put them in danger."

Chat Noir gasped. "But why would they want to move away?"

"That's where it gets even scarier." Ladybug began trembling as she spoke. "They claim that things aren't working out here in Paris, but I've overheard them talking a few times. I think they've been up to something behind my back. Something dangerous. I think that they might be trying to run away from someone."

Chat Noir's eyes widened. "Seriously? Sab – umm – I mean, what dangerous stuff could your parents possibly be up to? They're just civilians, right?"

"I don't know. All I know was that they were talking about people getting killed." Ladybug admitted nervously, looking back towards the Eiffel Tower where she knew that her mother would likely be searching for her right this second. It felt so surreal to be talking about her parents like this. All this time, Ladybug had thought that they were just ordinary people.

"Chat I need to get out of this situation." Ladybug pleaded, turning back towards him. "I need to help my parents and I can't leave Paris. I promised everyone in the city that I could always be here to protect them. And I can't leave you either. Not with Hawkmoth still out there and those weird creatures that seem to be after us."

"Hey, it's okay." Chat said soothingly as he pulled Ladybug into a tight hug. "We'll think of something. We'll make sure that you don't have to leave. We'll get through this."

Something about this moment felt so familiar. In this moment, Chat Noir almost reminded Ladybug of Adrien. The way he spoke to her, the way he embraced her, the way he smelled. It was so similar. Ladybug shook her head at that thought. No, that would be impossible. It was just a coincidence and she was likely only thinking this because of how stressed she was. Despite those weird thoughts, Ladybug hugged Chat Noir back tightly, grateful that he had arrived so quickly in her hour of need. He seemed pretty confident that all of this could be sorted and that Ladybug wouldn't have to leave, which made her feel slightly better.

"I can't leave, Chat Noir." Ladybug mumbled into his chest. "I just can't. This is my home. I love it here."

"I know." Chat Noir placed a kiss on the top of her head before pulling away, keeping hold of her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "I have an idea." He revealed nervously.

"What?" Ladybug asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry Ladybug, but I don't think we have a choice now. We need to talk to Master Fu."

"W-what? But –"

"Your kwami didn't want us bugging him, I know." Chat Noir frowned. "But things are getting so serious and we need some guidance. On what's happening with those creatures and what to do about your parents wanting to move you away. There's no way we can both deal with this on our own. I think this is a matter that would greatly concern him."

"But what if…" Ladybug trailed off, frightened by the dark path that her thoughts had taken.

"What?" Chat Noir urged.

"What if Master Fu says there's nothing that can be done and that I can't be Ladybug anymore?"

Chat Noir sighed and closed his eyes, bowing his head slightly. "I doubt that will happen. But if it does, we'll just have to figure a way out of that as well. I know I'd never be able to work with another Ladybug so if he takes your miraculous, well then he can have mine back too. There's no way I could go on protecting Paris without you by my side. I guess a new Chat Noir would have to take the reins."

"Chat…" Ladybug whispered, shocked and touched over what he had just said. She hated to think of him giving up his power and kwami because of her.

"Now come on, we better get this over with if you said they want to leave tomorrow." Chat said, taking hold of Ladybug's hand.

He began running and Ladybug followed, gripping Chat Noir's hand back just as tightly. The run to Master Fu's place was long and filled with nothing but heavy silence. Chat Noir said nothing, simply running forward with a quiet and fierce determination. Ladybug clung onto his hand like a life line. At the moment, the feel of Chat Noir's large, strong hand around her own was the only thing that was helping to keep her grounded; keeping her from going insane.

Finally, they grew close to Master Fu's place. They both silently decided that it would best to visit him through the back door that led out onto the alley way in case anyone saw them. They both dropped down and Ladybug found herself automatically and nervously backing away. What if Master Fu _did_ take her miraculous? If she was moving away, then she obviously couldn't protect Paris and fight Hawkmoth anymore. Therefore, it seemed only natural that she wouldn't be allowed to be Ladybug anymore. She would never see Tikki again. Her kwami who she had grown to love so much over the time they had been together was likely about to be taken away from her.

Ladybug couldn't bear it. She took another automatic step back, not even able to look at the door for fear that Master Fu would already be there waiting for her, hand outstretched, demanding her earrings back. Ladybug wasn't sure if she could go back to being a normal civilian after everything she had been through. She definitely wasn't ready to lose Tikki. Ladybug knew that day would come where she would have to return her miraculous, but not now. Anything but now. Ten years in the future maybe. But not now.

"It's alright, Ladybug." Chat Noir took hold of her hand again. "Everything's going to be fine, I promise you."

"I'm scared, Chat." Ladybug whimpered her confession.

Chat Noir looked slightly taken aback before he smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Ladybug leaned into him gratefully. He was such a good friend to her and she had treated him so appallingly. Even now he was standing by her and yet she gave him nothing of the sort in return. All she had done these past few weeks was hurt him and then hurt him again. She didn't deserve such a good partner. Maybe it was best that Master Fu took her miraculous off her. Chat Noir deserved a better Ladybug who would treat him right.

"You can do this. I'll be right by your side." Chat Noir encouraged her.

Ladybug gulped before she nodded as Chat's reassuring words helped calm her down slightly. Chat smiled gently at her before leading them both down the alley and towards the back door of Master Fu's business. However, both of them instantly froze when they caught sight of the back door. It was hanging open. Ladybug waited, expecting Master Fu to come out, but he never did. Ladybug didn't even think. She just ran towards the door, desperate to see if Master Fu was alright.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir cried out after her and immediately followed, running after her.

Ladybug paused in the doorway. The door had clearly been damaged and there were papers scattered about on the wooden floor. Had someone broken in? Ladybug had a terrible feeling about this whole situation as the inside of Master Fu's dojo was ominously dark. Slowly, Ladybug and Chat Noir both made they way inside, terrified over what they were going to find inside.

* * *

 **Uh oh! I can't help but feel that this chapter wasn't the best it could have been as I was an anxious, depressed mess while writing, so I hope that it doesn't show. I hope that you guys still enjoyed the chapter and please feel free to let me know your opinions in a review. I really appreciate it when people take their time to leave a review, whether long or short.**

 **Normally I don't apologise for cliffhangers, but on this one I am sorry because I don't know when my next update will be. At the moment, it will likely be later next week. My university results will be released on Tuesday and I'll find out what degree class I'll be graduating with, so I'm not going to feel like writing the few days leading up to that day. I'm a bag of nerves at the moment. Depending on whether I get good news or bad news, I might not feel like writing in the days afterwards as well. I have a terrible feeling that I haven't done as well as I would have liked. I hope that you guys understand.**


	33. Caught Red Handed

**Hi guys! Guess who got the grade they wanted? I did! I'm so happy! I shall be graduating in July with a 2:1 BA(Hons) in History. Yippee! Thank you to everyone who wished me good luck and who offered support to me while I was a nervous wreck. You're all so lovely. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, I really appreciate it.**

 **And to the religious troll who keeps copy and pasting Jesus stuff into my review sections for my stories, insulting me and my readers, with all due respect, go away. I do not tolerate spam in my reviews, nor do I appreciate people fighting in my review sections. You have every right to say what you want in the review section, but I also have every right to remove or report reviewers for spam or offensive comments that have nothing to do with the story. I monitor all of my reviews carefully to make sure my readers are not victimised or harassed. My review section should be a safe space for all of my readers to post their opinions whether positive or constructive criticism. So keep it respectful and polite in my review section please. Thank you.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Three: Caught Red Handed**

Ladybug and Chat Noir stuck close to each other as they ventured further into the building. Ladybug couldn't help but bite her lip nervously as feelings of panic began to rise in her chest, making it slightly difficult for her the breathe. She clutched her yo-yo tightly in her hand while Chat Noir held his baton in front of him, ready to attack any enemies that jumped out at them. That was exactly what Ladybug was expecting to happen at any second. Her heart pounded in her chest and adrenaline coursed through her body, ready for that moment. Yet, the further they slowly walked down the main hall, nothing seemed to be happening.

The only sounds that could be heard was the loud, worried breathing and Ladybug and Chat Noir and the creaking of their footsteps against the wooden floor as they continued to slowly walk. Everywhere was dark and Ladybug felt tears forming in her eyes as she looked down at the floor. Papers had been tossed about everywhere. She wanted to call out. To see if Master Fu was here and see if he was okay. But she knew they couldn't risk it. Whoever had clearly broken into this place might still be here. If they had Master Fu in their clutches, then they needed to catch them by surprise.

Ladybug narrowed her eyes, a terrible feeling churning deep within her gut. Something about this whole situation felt incredibly wrong. The air felt heavy and ominous, making Ladybug's heart pound even more in her chest, like it might shatter her ribcage at any second and burst free. She couldn't help but subconsciously reach out and place her free hand on Chat Noir's shoulder, frightened over what they might find.

They needed to act fast.

"You look upstairs, I'll check downstairs." Ladybug's tone left no room for questioning and Chat nodded, following her orders and immediately darted upstairs, his claws ready for a fight.

Meanwhile, Ladybug headed towards the room Master Fu typically used for healing. She slowly peaked her head around the door frame as the door had already been opened. Ladybug then gasped at the sight before her. The room had been completely trashed. Floorboards had been torn up from the floor and strewn about the room. The curtains were closed, barely letting any light into the room at all. Like the hallway, papers had been thrown about everywhere. Cupboard doors had been left open, their contents emptied out onto the floor on front of them.

Ladybug ran into the centre of the room, glancing into the kitchen to see that Master Fu's potions and ingredients had also been carelessly tossed around. Even more worrying was that that there was no sign of Master Fu. Whoever had done this, it looked like they had taken Master Fu. Ladybug nearly collapsed to her knees at that thought. She clasped her hands over her mouth in shock and horror, tears spilling from her eyes at the thought of Master Fu having been kidnapped by someone.

Looking around the room again, it looked like whoever had done this had been looking for something. It couldn't have been ordinary burglars as it didn't look like anything had been stolen. And if they had just needed Master Fu, then why trash his house in the first place? Something about this situation felt very wrong and suspicious to Ladybug. Had Master Fu been hurt? Or worse…

"No sign of him." Chat Noir's panicked voice appearing behind her made Ladybug jump.

She twisted around to see that her partner mirrored her worried expression.

"I think he's been taken." Marinette's voice shook. She then looked around the room again, frightened and terror-stricken as she saw all the damage that this person had done. What would they want with Master Fu? Had he tried to defend himself? What if they had gotten here sooner? How long had he been missing? If Ladybug and Chat Noir had come to see him sooner, could they have prevented this from happening? Immense feelings of guilt began to overwhelm Ladybug. She was doing such a terrible job of being a superhero lately. She couldn't protect her own parents from whatever had them so frightened and she couldn't save Master Fu in time.

"Who could have done such a thing?" Ladybug choked out.

"Hawkmoth?" Chat Noir suggested.

Ladybug frowned, deep in thought. "I'm not so sure. If Hawkmoth had done this, then surely we would have known by now. He would have wanted to use Master Fu as some sort of bargaining chip to get his hands on our and the other miraculous." Ladybug then gasped. "The other miraculous!"

"Huh?"

"Master Fu guarded lots of other miraculous!" Ladybug quickly explained as she scanned the room, looking for any sign of the old gramophone that Master Fu often hid them inside. She moved floorboards and piles of papers in a desperate attempt to try and find them. It wasn't on the shelf where Master Fu typically kept them.

Finally, under a huge stash of paper, tossed into the corner of the room and laying on its side, was the old gramophone. Ladybug breathed a huge sigh of relief as she picked the heavy object up, shifting it so that it was sat upright. Chat Noir moved to stand behind her, curiously looking at the object.

" _That's_ where Master Fu hides the miraculous?" Chat asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Ladybug explained. "So it looks like the bad guys didn't get their hands on this at least. Master Fu must have ensured that they didn't figure out where the miraculous was. I think that's why this place has been turned upside down. They were looking for the miraculous."

"So how do we get inside?" Chat Noir crouched down next to her.

Ladybug frowned. "I have no idea."

" _Great._ " Chat Noir forced out a chuckle.

Ladybug began tugging on the old wood, knowing that the gramophone opened up to reveal the box of miraculous hidden inside. It was just a matter of getting in to access them. Maybe some of the other kwamis could help them and give them advice. It was worth a shot. Ladybug kept on tugging, groaning as nothing budged until she finally dropped the gramophone in frustration.

"Careful there, LB." Chat Noir steadied her as she nearly fell backwards from the force of her own pulling and letting go so quickly.

"I think maybe he used some sort of code. The problem is, I don't know it." Ladybug blew a stray strand of dark hair out of her face in frustration. That's when Ladybug looked down at the floorboards beneath them and gasped, choking on the air she had rapidly exhaled when she caught sight of what stained the floor beneath them. A dark red, almost brown stain dotted parts of the floor around them. Chat Noir gasped as well when he caught sight of what had Ladybug suddenly freak out and he placed his hands on Marinette's shoulders.

"I-is that…?" Ladybug couldn't bring herself to say it.

Chat Noir's arms wrapped tighter around her as her voice shook, fighting back tears. But Ladybug couldn't bring herself to push him off her. Right now, she needed the comfort, otherwise she feared that might just fall apart there and then. This was all too much. Too much was happening and Ladybug didn't know how to cope. Akumas she was more than used to, but all of this was something new. She was way out of her depth. Ladybug didn't know what to do. And that just made her even more scared. Was there even anything she could do? No matter what Ladybug did, it only felt like things got worse.

"Who do you think could have done this if it isn't Hawkmoth?" Chat Noir gently moved her head so that she was no longer looking at the blood. The sight had made Ladybug feel sick to her stomach. What if they were too late to do anything about Master Fu? What if…what if...Ladybug couldn't even bring herself to think that dark, finalising thought. He couldn't be. He was _Master Fu._ The last guardian of the miraculous. It was hard to imagine anything happening to him. He had just always seemed immortal to Ladybug. But clearly he wasn't…

"I don't know…" Ladybug trembled.

"Those shadow creatures?"

"I'm not too sure about that either." Ladybug frowned in thought once again. "It seems they can only effect our dreams and can't manipulate the physical world. But if…"

If?" Chat Noir encouraged.

"What if it's the peacock miraculous holder?" Ladybug wondered, turning away just as Chat Noir's face drained of colour, not noticing him suddenly going incredibly stiff next to her. "My kwami told me that the peacock miraculous holder, along with the miraculous itself disappeared some time ago. What if they're returning? What if they're invading our dreams to weaken us, using the image of shadow creatures as some sort of scapegoat? Because in my dreams, I sometimes see orange eyes and blue feathers which my kwami tells me are icons of the peacock miraculous. We also know that the peacock miraculous holder has the power to manipulate the mind. Now they've taken Master Fu for revenge and are looking for the other miraculous to gain more power."

When Ladybug got no response off Chat Noir, she finally turned around to look at him again, becoming startled at the sight of him staring down at the floor, his face completely pale and looking like he was internally freaking out. Ladybug snapped her fingers in front of his face, making Chat jump slightly.

"Chat! Have you even been listening?" Ladybug asked incredulously.

"Y-yeah." Chat Noir stuttered, still looking freaked out. "L-listen…Ladybug…"

"What?" Ladybug asked, shocked by Chat Noir's sudden weird behaviour. Maybe he was just as freaked out by this situation as she was. Master Fu going missing certainly was a shock to both of them, and Ladybug hated the thought of Chat Noir trying to be strong for her sake. If he was scared and upset by this, then he needed to let it out as well.

Chat Noir then sighed, seemingly unable to look at her. "It doesn't matter."

"Anyway," Ladybug blinked in confusion before looking down at the gramophone again with a serious expression, "We need to get this out of here in case whoever did this comes back to try and have another look. I don't think Master Fu will cave and tell them where the miraculous are, but you never know. I know he would want us to keep it safe."

"Right." Chat Noir finally seemed to snap out of his weird state.

"There's still a few people I need to talk to." Ladybug explained. "Then when the sun sets, we'll meet up again in the usual place and discuss ways to try and find Master Fu, maybe look for clues and maybe also try and figure out a plan to stop me from leaving tomorrow."

"Got it."

"Until then," Ladybug picked up the gramophone and handed it to Chat Noir. "Can you try and keep this safe? I won't be able to keep it around and look after it with everything that's going on."

Chat Noir looked stunned as he held the gramophone in his arms. "Are you sure?"

Ladybug smiled at him despite everything. "I trust you, Chat Noir."

Chat Noir smiled back.

"We better get going." Ladybug became serious again, standing up and walking back towards the back door. Chat Noir followed and they both made their way back outside. With a pained and worried sigh, Ladybug closed the back door behind them and leaned her head against it for a moment, silently praying that Master Fu was alright and that everything would turn out okay in the end.

"My lady?" Chat Noir's voice brought Ladybug out of her thoughts. She turned back around and tried to give Chat Noir the best reassuring smile she could, though it came out forced and she knew that Chat Noir would never buy it.

"It'll be okay, Ladybug." Chat Noir reassured her. "We'll find Master Fu. We'll figure out a way for you to stay in Paris. We're superheroes, so of course we're going to win in the end."

"Don't say things like that, Chat Noir." Ladybug scolded. "We may be superheroes, but we're not perfect. Things can go wrong…we could lose…" Ladybug shook her head slightly. "So we need to be careful and not get too arrogant. That's when mistakes happen."

"Right…sorry." Chat Noir smiled sheepishly.

"It's fine." Ladybug sighed. "I know you were just trying to cheer me up."

Chat Noir sighed as well, pulling his baton off his belt and got ready to extend it and head off. "Good luck my lady." He smiled. "See you at sunset."

"See you at sunset." Ladybug repeated, giving him a little wave.

Chat Noir gripped the gramophone tighter in his arm before he extended his baton and flew off. Ladybug watched and waited as Chat Noir flew through the streets of Paris, extending his baton to carry him through the air while he carefully held the gramophone under his other arm. Once Ladybug was sure that Chat Noir had gone, she de-transformed in the gloomy ally way and made sure that her cheeks were free from tear stains for when she would have to re-join the main street. They needed to find Master Fu and fast. Whoever had taken him was clearly a threat. Marinette really wasn't sure how they were going to go about this though. She truly was in an almost impossible situation. She needed to help find Master Fu, but how could she do that while he parents planned on moving her to who knows where.

"Oh, Tikki," Marinette nearly burst into tears again, "What are we going to do?"

"We'll think of something." He kwami tried her best to reassure her. "I'm sure Master Fu is fine, he can look after himself. It's a good thing that whoever did this didn't manage to get hold of the miraculous."

"There was blood Tikki…"

"I know. But if whoever did this wanted Master Fu dead then they would have just killed him there and then. They must have kept him alive and have taken him away somewhere." Tikki explained.

Marinette was a little bit comforted by the fact that Master Fu could still be alive, but she hated to think of him suffering. He had clearly gotten hurt in all of that commotion, or maybe even managed to hurt his attacker. But Marinette didn't see Master Fu as a violent person who would draw blood. He was just a peaceful, wise old man. He couldn't transform, let alone attack anyone. Had he kept Wayzz with him the whole time? Did this mean that whoever they were dealing with now had the turtle miraculous? That would certainly be bad news for them as it at least put them on a level playing field.

"Who could have done this, Tikki? And where have they taken him?" Marinette asked, her voice shaking with fear and worry.

Tikki sighed, sounding just as worried herself. "I don't know. But I'm confident that we will find him."

"But how can I help find him if my parents want to take me away?"

"It's not ideal, I know," Tikki tried her best to comfort her holder, "But we _will_ figure something out."

"There's still people I need to tell. Nina…Alya…" Marinette trailed off, fighting back sobs that were rising in her chest again. This was such a complicated situation. It was like the universe was conspiring against her right now. Not only did she have to deal with Hawkmoth, but strange shadow creatures that invaded both hers and Chat Noir's dreams as well as the fact that Master Fu was now missing on top of the fact that her parents wanted her to move away. Maybe…maybe she could just run away? Maybe tonight she should just not go home and 'disappear'. Marinette's heart lurched at the thought. It was something that would solve her problems and allow her to go on being Ladybug and save Master Fu, but she knew that she couldn't do something like that to her parents. No matter how much they were currently unknowingly putting everyone in danger.

Or maybe…maybe she should just confess everything to her parents? Confess that she was Ladybug and explain how she needed to stay so that she could defeat Hawkmoth and save Master Fu. Would her parents understand? Would they be willing to stay in Paris after that? Despite how much that would make her life easier, Marinette knew that she couldn't do that either. She couldn't have anyone knowing her secret identity, it was too dangerous. Her parents could become targets. She had to keep them safe, no matter how much it inconvenienced her to keep all of these secrets.

"The sooner we do that, the sooner we can try and figure out how to find Master Fu and stop you from moving away." Tikki said, determined.

"You're right." Marinette agreed, opening up her purse so that Tikki could fly inside. Her little red kwami settled herself in Marinette's purse and Marinette closed it behind her. With a sigh, Marinette stepped out of the ally way and began making her way towards Nina's office as it was closer than Alya's apartment. As much as Marinette hated to do so, she knew that she needed to quit. Who knows when it would be when Marinette could get herself sorted out, so a work experience placement would have to wait. Master Fu and everything else had to come first.

The walk to Nina's main office felt like it took an eternity. Marinette watched the setting sun nervously, knowing that she didn't have much time. The race truly was on in order to try and sort this mess out. Her parents were no doubt becoming frantic at this point. She also still needed to meet Alya, Chat Noir and Adrien again. Marinette's mind whirled in a crazy spiral of millions of thoughts. It was all becoming too much. She couldn't keep up with everything that was going on.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down and clear her mind a little bit, Marinette finally arrived. The building was almost empty as it looked like the stores on the main floor were about to close. The whole place was incredibly quiet and a little bit eerie. Her footsteps on the marble floor echoed throughout the huge ground floor and as always, Marinette couldn't help but look around in wonder.

However, Marinette soon forced herself to pay attention as she approached the main desk. This time, it looked like a different woman was looking after the reception desk. She was short and skinny, with auburn hair that had blonde highlights, and her eyes were a warm brown. She didn't look as hostile as the previous receptionist which gave Marinette a little bit of hope that she would be able to see Nina without much hassle this time.

The receptionist was busy sorting some paper work out when Marinette came to stop in front of the desk. Marinette pressed her fingers against the cool marble and leaned over slightly. Her shadow caused the woman to look up, slightly startled.

"Oh, errr, how can I help you?" She asked.

"I came to see Nina Couture." Marinette explained.

The receptionist frowned in confusion. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Well no…" Marinette admitted.

"Sorry, then I can't risk it. This is my first day and the previous receptionist went missing after making a lot of mistakes. At least that's the story everybody seems to be using to try and wind me up anyway." She shuddered.

"Well if you get into trouble, you can blame me, because it's really important that I see her right now." Marinette explained desperately. "She's personally mentoring me at the moment and training me to become a designer."

"That's nice." Though it didn't seem like she was really listening as she picked up the phone. She dialled a few numbers before pressing the phone to her ear and waited. Marinette tapped her fingers on the desk slightly impatiently, figuring that the receptionist was maybe calling Nina to ask if it was okay for her to go up. She really couldn't afford to be waiting around. She was running out of time. She just needed to quickly explain to Nina that she needed to quit and then get out of here.

Marinette waited and waited and waited until the receptionist sighed and put the phone back down.

"I'm sorry madame, but I'm afraid I can't get hold of her. She doesn't seem to be in her office right now so I can't let you up. You can leave a message and I can pass it on if you'd like?"

Marinette groaned and pushed herself away from the desk, clasping and unclasping her hands as she began to panic. She couldn't just a leave a message; that wouldn't be fair. Especially after how nice Nina had been to her. She deserved a face to face explanation. Nina had to be up there somewhere. If she had left the building, then surely the receptionist would know and tell her so? That meant she would have to come back to her office pretty soon.

"It's okay," Marinette finally said, beginning to walk towards the elevator. "I know where her office is, I can just wait for her."

"Whoa…what?" The receptionist gasped before fumbling with the door trying to get out from behind the desk. "I really don't think you should be going up there on your own."

Marinette pressed the button for the elevator and thankfully, the doors immediately opened and Marinette stepped inside, ignoring the receptionist's shouting. She finally managed to come out from behind the desk and began running towards the elevator, though her high heels were making that difficult. The woman raised her hand in the air, looking panicked as the elevator doors began to close behind Marinette.

"Hey! Wait! You're not allowed!" The receptionist pleaded, but it was too late.

The elevator doors closed before the receptionist managed to catch up and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. She jerked slightly as the elevator began heading up towards the top floor of the building. Marinette then looked down as she felt Tikki move in her purse before her little red head popped out, her deep blue eyes narrowing slightly as she looked up at Marinette.

"Marinette!" She scolded. "You could get into huge trouble for this."

"I don't have much time, Tikki." Marinette explained. "I need to tell Nina properly and then I need to find Alya and meet up with Chat Noir again to try and figure something out. Now stay hidden, Tikki, we don't know when we'll bump into Nina."

Tikki obeyed and hid back in Marinette's purse. The elevator finally came to a stop and the doors opened. Marinette stepped out and immediate headed for the doors which she knew led to Nina's office. Cautiously and nervously, Marinette lightly knocked on the door. There was no answer. Just to make sure, Marinette knocked again, this time more loudly. Still no answer. Marinette then stepped back from the door, not knowing what to do. She looked down the corridor to see that there were more rooms in the distance, though all of the doors were shut and Marinette didn't dare go down and explore.

Instead, Marinette turned back towards the door of Nina's office and slowly reached out and pulled on the door handle. The door creaked open and it echoed all the way down the corridor, causing Marinette to nervously cringe. Surely Nina wouldn't mind Marinette waiting in her office, right? There didn't seem to be any chairs in the corridor and Marinette's legs were starting to ache from all the walking and standing she had been doing that day. Besides, she had been left alone in Nina's office before.

Feeling slightly more reassured that she wouldn't get into too much trouble, Marinette slipped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar so that she hopefully wouldn't startle Nina too much with her presence. Marinette then turned around and was shocked to see that Nina's office was in a slightly more disorganised state than normal. Papers covered Nina's desk in a messy pile and it looked like some of them had even fallen to the floor. Drawers had been left open and Marinette looked around in confusion. Nina had always struck Marinette as a very neat and tidy person.

Marinette walked further into Nina's office, looking around at everything in a state of shock and confusion. She sat herself down on the chair opposite Nina's desk and clasped her hands together nervously. She hoped that Nina would be arriving soon because if not, then Marinette would have no choice but to just leave a message, despite how much she didn't want to that unfair.

The seconds ticked by and while picking at her nails in boredom and anxiety, something on Nina's desk caught Marinette's eye. All the designs she had done for Nina that day were still on her desk. Smiling slightly, Marinette stood up and walked around to the other side of Nina's desk in order to get a better look. Marinette picked up the papers and looked at them sadly, now knowing that her designs would likely never be featured in Nina's brand. This was the end of a perfect, once in a lifetime opportunity and Marinette was never going to get it back.

Forcing back tears, Marinette was about to put her designs down when something that looked like it had been hastily hidden under her designs caught her attention. It looked like some sort of photo and Marinette could have sworn that she recognised the top of her own head. Frowning, Marinette pulled it out from under some more papers and gasped.

It was a photo of her!

It looked like…she was walking to school. Whatever was going on, she clearly wasn't aware that the photo was being taken. Marinette definitely had no memory of this. But there she was. Crossing the road, her pink backpack strapped her to her back as she headed to school. Who…who had taken this? Marinette froze as she stared at the photo in horror. Why did Nina have this?

Managing to unfreeze herself slightly, Marinette looked back down at Nina's desk and saw that there were more photos hidden underneath and it looked like they had all slipped out of a huge file. Marinette held her breath as she picked up the overflowing file and opened it. The first thing she saw that was placed on top of everything else was a sheet of paper containing paragraph after paragraph of information.

All of the information was…on her!

Marinette nearly dropped the file in shock, but managed to keep hold of it in her shaking hands as she tried to swallow back the lump that had formed in her throat and keep on reading. It looked like whoever had made this file practically knew everything about her. Her full name was place at the top of the page along with her age. The names of her parents were underneath along with a photo stapled next to that information. The photo looked like it had been taken in secret and from a distant, just like the previous photo of Marinette had been. It was just of them talking outside the bakery, smiling and laughing at whatever the other had just said. Marinette's stomach did a frightened flip when she noticed that, for whatever reason, someone had doodled two red crosses across her mother's eyes. It was really creepy and unsettling and Marinette couldn't bear to look at it any longer.

Trying to keep her breathing as calm as possible, Marinette continued reading. All of the information about her school was there. Her school schedule and the names of all of her teachers. There was also a list of all of the people that Marinette had interacted with and Marinette nearly screamed in fear at the thought of how this stalker had gotten a hold of all of her friends' names. Clamping a hand over her mouth in case she did scream, Marinette dropped the file back down onto the desk, unable to read anymore of that sheet of paper.

It had already told Marinette everything that she needed to know.

Someone had been stalking her.

N-Nina? Had Nina been stalking her? But…why? How? How had Marinette not noticed any of this? She was supposed to be Ladybug! Wouldn't she have noticed if somebody had been following both her and the people she cared about the most? Was she in danger? Were her friends and family in danger? How could Nina have done all of this on her own if it was her? Why would she need this information? If her intentions were malicious, then what were they? And why hadn't she carried them out by now?

Marinette's head began spinning so rapidly, that she felt like she might faint. She grabbed hold of the desk to try and steady herself and the spinning room around her began to slow slightly. That's when a dreaded thought occurred to Marinette. If someone had been following her…

Did that mean…did that mean that…

Panicking and panting wildly with fear, Marinette began shuffling through all of the many photos of her again. Some had been taken of her walking down the streets from a distance. There was one pointed at her bedroom window where Marinette could see herself sat at her desk. There were some of her at school and some of her hanging out with her friends. The sight of each one only made Marinette's heart beat even faster in her chest. Was this some sort of weird dream? How was it possible that she had not noticed that someone was following her and taking pictures of her?

That's when Marinette finally found what she had been hoping not to find. Yelping, Marinette dropped the photos onto the floor as if she had just been burnt by them. There, on top of the pile, was a photo of Marinette transforming into Ladybug. It was midway through her transformation and her whole body was surrounded by pink light. The outline of her body was just visible beneath the bright light, her clothes morphing into her superhero suit.

All Marinette could do was stare at the photo. Her mouth slack and open wide in shock and her eyes were as wide as saucers, tears of fear visibly forming inside them as they glistened. Her whole body was rigid, unable to move as if she had become completely paralysed by shock and horror.

D-did this mean…that Nina…knew her identity?

Marinette couldn't bring herself to come to terms with that thought. How long had Nina been watching her? Why had she been watching her? What was she hoping to achieve? None of this was making any sense. Was she going to use it as some sort of threat? Was she hoping to get her hands on the ladybug miraculous? Then why hadn't Nina taken it? She would have had plenty opportunities to do so. This all didn't seem like Nina either. Nina had been so kind to Marinette since they had met. She had defended Marinette from Chloé, she had offered Marinette an amazing job and comforted her over Adrien. Unless…it had all just been a ploy. Small parts in one huge grand scheme.

Maybe Nina was working for Hawkmoth and had revealed her identity to him? But if that had happened, then surely Hawkmoth would have attacked her by now and tried to steal her miraculous. Marinette clenched her fists in frustration as she failed to make sense of anything that was going on.

She had to get out of here.

She had to find Chat Noir and tell him immediately. Then they would decide what to do.

Marinette looked back up, ready to leave the room, however, her heart leapt out of her chest and she let out a bloodcurdling scream at the sight before her. Marinette then clamped a hand over her mouth again to silence herself and instead gazed at the door of Nina's office in horror.

Standing just in front of the office door was Nina Couture. Her face was deadly serious, not giving much emotion away as she leaned her weight slightly on one hip and had her arms folded across her chest. Her deep blue eyes stared at Marinette with a dangerous sparkle in them, with one delicate, blonde eyebrow slightly raised. Her assistant was blocking the door, Leon, Marinette was sure his name was. His frame blocked the whole door and his arms were folded across his chest as he glared at Marinette, his eyes almost completely invisible behind his sunglasses.

"Didn't you know it's rude to go snooping?" Nina asked in a calm, collected voice, though there was almost a slightly hysterical edge to her tone that betrayed her.

Marinette's hero side kicked in as she frowned at Nina, hiding all traces of her own fear. Marinette had wanted answers. She was now going to make sure that she got some.

"I don't know, I'd say stalking someone is pretty up there in the realm of bad manners." Marinette hissed back, gripping her purse, ready to summon Tikki to transform her if necessary. It didn't seem like Nina and Leon posed much of a threat. They were just civilians and Marinette was sure that she could easily take them down.

Nina's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise at Marinette's sass before she chuckled. Marinette stared at Nina incredulously. How could she be laughing at a time like this? Nina managed to calm herself down and Marinette took this opportunity to speak again.

"I want answers. NOW!" Marinette yelled, her voice bouncing off the walls and making her chest vibrate.

Nina seemed to think for a moment before she smiled and relaxed. She unfolded her arms from across her chest and then nodded at Leon who slowly backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. Marinette watched nervously as Nina slowly walked towards the door, her heels clicking against the floor as she did so, before she locked the door. The click of the lock echoed around the room, striking further fear deep within Marinette.

"You want answers? Fine." Nina then turned to Marinette with a serious look on her face. "Maybe it _is_ finally time I told you the truth."

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 **Uh oh! What do you guys think is going to happen next? Who is Nina? What does she want with Marinette? As always, let me know your theories. I love to read them! This chapter gave me so much trouble to write for some reason so I hope that it's come out okay. Feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in a review. See you guys soon!**


	34. A Plead For Help

**It's too hot! I'm dying! With my last ounce of strength, I write and publish this chapter. Silliness aside – wow! You guys went crazy for that last chapter. Thank you so much for all of your amazing responses! It makes me so happy to see so many people are enjoying this story. Also, thank you to those who have followed this story or added it to their favourites. Every little bit of support helps me to keep writing. This was another chapter I had to split in half; this story just keeps getting longer and longer.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Four: A Plead For Help**

The hairs on the back of Marinette's neck began to stand on end as she watched Nina slowly move away from the door to sit on one of the couches in the centre of the room. The fact that she had locked the room made Marinette incredibly uncomfortable, but Nina didn't seem to be a threat. She clasped her hands together on her lap and she looked down solemnly, suddenly seemingly unable to speak. Marinette never took her eyes off her the entire time. Surely there could be no good reason to be stalking someone. Yet, the whole time they had spent time together, Nina had never seemed like a threat. In fact, all Nina seemed to be doing was trying to help Marinette. So none of this was making sense.

Despite not feeling immediately threatened by Nina, Marinette still clutched the strap of her bag tightly. Would revealing Tikki even matter at this point? Nina clearly knew that she was Ladybug. But did that mean she knew the secret as to how Marinette transformed? Marinette thought she should still try and protect that for now, just in case. She knew that Tikki could hear everything that was going on. Her kwami seemed to be making sure that she was staying extra still inside her purse.

Finally, impatience got the better of Marinette.

"I'm waiting." Marinette glared at the blonde woman in front of her.

Nina sighed a melancholy sigh, almost sounding like she was about to cry before she collapsed forward slightly and buried her face in her hands. She ran her thin fingers through her golden blonde hair, clinging to the strands, looking like she was about to tear them out. Marinette's frown morphed into an expression of surprise and concern, but she didn't dare move.

"This is all such a mess." Nina mumbled, mainly to herself.

All the while, Marinette continued to watch, not sure what she should do. Nina looked so vulnerable and upset in that moment. Her natural, kind instincts were urging Marinette to step forward and comfort the woman who was clearly in distress. However, her gut instincts were once again screaming at Marinette to _run. Run and never look back._ But why? Sure, Nina had clearly been stalking Marinette, but she hadn't harmed her so far. In fact, if she was a threat, shouldn't she be harming Marinette right now? Her secret was out. If Nina was putting a façade up, then surely she didn't need it anymore now that Marinette had discovered the photos and documents?

"I didn't want you to find out like this." Nina continued to gasp out, sounding like she was holding back sobs. "I wanted to pull you aside and tell you properly, but I could never find the chance. I was hoping that…if you got to know me…then you would trust me. Then when I revealed all of this, you'd believe me."

"Find out about what?" Marinette asked, her heart leaping into her mouth in fear.

"It's true," Nina finally brought her head out of her hands, her blue eyes capturing and holding Marinette in their hypnotic gaze, "I know that you're Ladybug."

"B-but how?" Marinette gasped. "Why?"

Nina sighed before biting her lip and looking away. "I've been trying to find another miraculous holder for years. I held out hope that maybe some of the guardians had survived the attack all those years ago. That the miraculous survived. I sent people to hunt around the world, looking for heroes. Then I heard the news. Ladybug and Chat Noir saving Paris. When I saw those images, I knew you were in possession of a miraculous."

Marinette's hands twitched, wanting to move up and shield her earrings, but she held them back. Instead, she remained still, her eyes widening as she processed Nina's words. Nina knew about the miraculous. About the guardians and the fact that the temple had been destroyed. But how?

"I'm sorry for invading your privacy and for scaring you. I promise you that your secret is safe with me." Nina looked back towards Marinette with a small, reassuring smile on her face.

Marinette narrowed her eyes slightly. "And how do I know I can trust you?"

Nina's expression turned grave. "Because I'm Paris' only hope. I'm _your_ only hope."

"I don't understand."

"Marinette…I'm…a miraculous holder as well. Or I used to be anyway." Nina admitted, tears forming in her eyes, making them glisten slightly in the light.

Marinette gasped, words becoming caught in her throat. She could feel Tikki shift slightly in her purse and Marinette wished so much that she could speak to Tikki right now. Marinette felt completely out of her depth. How was she supposed to respond to something like that? The fact that Nina _used_ to be a miraculous holder made her nervous. Why past tense? Did she have her miraculous stolen from her? Or worse…taken away because she was no longer worthy? What if she was lying? But then…how could she have known about the miraculous in the first place? Marinette felt weirdly split in half in this moment. One half of her felt like she could trust this woman for some reason. Yet the other half felt terrified of her and wanted to run and never look back. The two sides of her kept fighting and Marinette felt like she was literally about to painfully split into two at any second.

Nina's eyes sparkled for a second before she looked down and chuckled humourlessly. "You don't know whether to believe me, and that's alright. I perfectly understand."

"It's not that I don't _believe_ you." Marinette said without thinking.

Nina's head snapped back up. "If it would make you feel safer to have your kwami out, I'd understand. It's fine, I know what a kwami is. I used to have one myself until she was taken from me. I can't imagine what she must have gone through." She trailed off, biting her lip.

Marinette nervously looked down at her purse, unsure. The fact that Nina seemed to know what a kwami was seemed to be almost definitive proof that she wasn't lying about being a holder of a miraculous. No one knew apart from other miraculous holders that it was kwamis that granted them their powers. Plus, Marinette would feel more comfortable having Tikki being able to put her input in. Marinette wasn't really sure what to do on her own. How often did previous miraculous holders show up? Tikki's opinion sure would help her at this point.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette slowly popped her purse open to see her little kwami curled up inside her purse. Tikki was already looking up at her with her large blue eyes, waiting to see what she did. Marinette nodded down at her kwami and Tikki flew out of her purse, her expression neutral as she examined Nina. Marinette watched her kwami carefully, waiting for her to give her any kind of indicator as to what was going on and what Marinette should do.

Tikki looked back at Marinette also looking unsure. Meanwhile, Nina stared at Tikki completely transfixed. Her blue eyes sparkled as they remained glued to Tikki's small form floating in the middle of the room, making sure that she was always in between Nina and Marinette. Marinette watched Nina's reaction to her kwami very carefully, ready to say the words to transform if necessary. Something about Nina's reaction put her slightly on edge. There seemed to be a hunger in her blue eyes, yet Marinette wasn't sure if she was imagining it all not. If Nina had wanted her miraculous then she could have easily taken it weeks ago.

"It's been so long since I've seen a kwami." Nina giggled slightly. "I forgot how small they were."

"We're not all the same size." Tikki's voice was toneless as she kept examining Nina, still looking unsure. Marinette took the fact that Tikki had freaked out yet as a good sign. Obviously she didn't recognise Nina or really see her as a threat at the moment. But still, she could tell that her little kwami was keeping her guard up.

"Nina, this is Tikki." Marinette introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you, Tikki." Nina's smile turned warm. "And may I just say what an honour it is to meet one of the most powerful kwami in the universe."

That line made Marinette even more nervous and suspicious and she stepped forward slightly to make sure that she was directly behind Tikki, ready in case things turned ugly. Tikki didn't react to the comment, she just continued to watch Nina carefully, not taking her eyes off her once. Nina seemed to noticed this but didn't seem to mind.

"I understand why you might be a little on edge. There are plenty of people out there who would sell their soul to get their hands on the ladybug miraculous and the power that it would grant them." Nina sighed. "But I can assure you that I am not one of those people. The ladybug miraculous is rightfully yours. You were the chosen one for it. I just need your help to get my own miraculous back; the one I was the chosen one for."

"It's just…if you _are_ a previous holder, you understand why I have to be cautious. Not all miraculous holders are automatically good guys."

Nina smirked. "Don't I know that all too well."

"I'm sorry?"

"I've faced a formidable miraculous enemy that you would not believe. She did truly unspeakable acts that makes Hawkmoth look like a schoolyard bully. She wielded the butterfly brooch until it got passed onto Hawkmoth. I thought the brooch had been destroyed, but obviously not. Miraculous have a weird knack for running in families sometimes." She laughed, though Marinette couldn't understand what she possibly found funny, almost as if Nina had just told an inside joke that Marinette wasn't a part of.

Nina continued, "She stole my miraculous away from me and now that I'm powerless, I have no hope of getting it back. That's why I tried to seek out another miraculous holder, hoping that they would help me and then I hit the jackpot when I found _you._ The holder of one of the most powerful miraculous: the ladybug. If I could just get my miraculous back, then I can help defeat Hawkmoth. I can avenge the guardians and ensure that the butterfly brooch doesn't get passed into evil hands again."

Marinette stepped forward slightly. "What was your miraculous then?" She asked nervously.

Nina's eyes tightened slightly. "The peacock."

Marinette gasped and stumbled backwards again. Tikki took a more protective stance in front of Marinette while she stared at her with wide eyes, not even daring to blink. The…the peacock? The peacock?! She was standing in front of the peacock miraculous holder! The very person who Marinette was suspecting was responsible for everything that was going on lately.

"You!" Marinette gasped.

Nina narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion.

"You're the one who's been invading mine and Chat Noir's dreams and giving us horrible visions! You've kidnapped Master Fu! I knew that the peacock miraculous holder was returning. I told you, Tikki!" She turned to her kwami who looked down in confusion before glaring slightly at Nina.

"You're the corrupted miraculous holder!" Tikki narrowed her eyes at Nina.

"What?" Nina gasped. "No!"

"Tikki, spots –"

"How could it have been me if I don't have my miraculous?!" Nina interrupted Marinette as quickly as possible.

Both Marinette and Tikki froze before exchanging glances. She was right. But what if Nina was hiding the fact that she didn't have her miraculous? This could all be some sort of ruse. But why? Marinette looked Nina up and down. There was no sign of any jewellery on her that looked like it had the potential to be a miraculous. But…if it wasn't the peacock miraculous holder that was invading their dreams, then who was? A hidden enemy? This was all so confusing and Marinette's knees wobbled beneath her slightly, feeling at a complete loss over what to do and what to think.

"A miraculous wielder went rogue many years ago," Tikki explained to Nina, "All the guardians apart from one were killed. The butterfly and the peacock miraculous went missing so it was always assumed that it was one of them that did it."

"A guardian survived?" Nina gasped.

"Master Fu." Marinette revealed. "He was living in the city and now he seems to have gone missing. We think there's someone out there who's after the other miraculous. It seems that whoever this is, they've been invading mine and Chat Noir's dreams as if they're trying to weaken us. We think there's two of them working together."

"I-I don't think I've ever heard of this Master Fu you speak of. And…this was one of the dreams that you explained to me in the store that one time?" Nina asked, shaking slightly.

Marinette nodded, wincing slightly at the memories of all of the nightmares that she'd had these past few weeks. Maybe if Nina was an experienced miraculous holder, then maybe she would be able to help Marinette figure out what was going on. The mention of these dreams did always seem to spook Nina slightly. Were these dreams something dangerous? Marinette began panicking at the thought. She knew they were definitely dangerous in that she always woke up with the injuries she had received in her dreams, but she never really thought about them being more dangerous than that. What if…what if one day…she never woke up?

"What is it exactly that you dream about." Nina stepped forward, urgently placing her hands on Marinette's shoulders as she looked down at her with worry in her eyes. Tikki stuck close to Marinette, eyeing Nina's hands nervously, but otherwise allowed the exchange to continue.

"Well…" Marinette tried her best to explain, "They often involve some kind of vision. At first it started out with dreams of Chat Noir trying to kill me. Sometimes I would see a woman bleeding on a mountainside," Marinette could have sworn she felt Nina winced, but otherwise kept explaining, "There was one time I went into this house and there was a man lying dead on the ground."

Marinette began choking as she spoke, struggling to hold back her terrified sobs. Remembering all of her dreams was becoming incredibly excruciating. They were all so horrific. Marinette bit her lip and looked down as a lump formed in her throat, preventing her from further speaking. Tikki tapped her cheek sympathetically while Nina pulled her a little bit closer and rubbed soothing circles on her arms.

"It's alright, Marinette," She gave her a soft reassuring smile, "Just take your time, you're doing really well."

"These shadow creatures seem to be the ones responsible. There's two of them and they seem to be working together. Chat Noir's kwami thinks that the dreams are caused by someone psychically invading our minds from a great distance and is showing us these visions. But we don't know why or what they want from us." Marinette explained.

Nina gasped in worry before frowning. She let go of Marinette and turned away, stepping forward a few paces while chewing on her nails. Marinette watched her worriedly and she exchanged another glance with Tikki. Tikki looked just as confused before they both turned back to Nina. Finally, Nina's shoulders relaxed, though she didn't turn back around to face them.

"I know what this is." Nina whispered seriously. "I wish I'd come to you a lot sooner now. I had my suspicions when you told me about it a few weeks ago, but I didn't have enough evidence to really think that it was a legitimate possibility."

"What is it?" Marinette practically begged.

"The very miraculous holder who went rogue is trying to contact you." Nina growled out. "Of course she never actually died that day. She was merely pushed into the void. Her consciousness lives, albeit weakly. She could never have done this on her own though. She's not powerful enough. She's not a guardian."

"I don't understand." Marinette gasped out, looking at Tikki for help.

Tikki looked like she was deep in thought before she snapped out of, her eyes locked on Nina. "You mean, a guardian's spirit is aiding in developing a psychic connection to Marinette and showing her these visions. I've rarely seen this done. It takes advanced magic and training."

"Which is why it can be only one guardian: Xing." Nina finally turned back around with a dark frown on her face.

"Xing? He doesn't sound familiar." Tikki tilted her head slightly.

"He was Master Fu's apprentice who joined long after your previous ladybug retired. He was incredibly gifted. Someone I thought was my... _friend_." She clenched her fists.

"But…if he was a guardian, why would he help a corrupted miraculous holder?" Marinette inquired, feeling completely confused by this new information.

"Because he joined her. Both of them conspired against the other guardians, wanting more power for themselves. From what I heard, Xing had been killed during the attack on the temple as soon as the other guardians found out what he had been up to. Even in death they don't give up." Nina shook her head incredulously.

Marinette looked down deep in thought. Nina was definitely seeming more trustworthy now. She hadn't tried to take her miraculous. She was without her own miraculous and her story was making a lot of sense. Tikki seemed to be a little more relaxed as well. That was enough to make Marinette feel less on edge. It seemed like Nina was definitely on their side. Having another miraculous holder to fight with them would definitely give them a further advantage over Hawkmoth. Especially seen as Nina seemed to be a lot more experienced and knew a lot more about their powers and magic. She would most certainly be an asset.

"Who was the corrupt miraculous holder? What happened?" Marinette asked timidly.

Nina sighed, looking exhausted and pained as she took a seat on the sofa again. She looked back up and patted the spot next to her, signalling for Marinette to sit down. Marinette obeyed and took a seat next to Nina, parking herself on the edge, still not comfortable enough to be completely relaxed. Tikki sat on Marinette's shoulder, looking incredibly intrigued by whatever Nina was about to say. Marinette was just as curious. Ever since Tikki had hinted that something bad had happened many years ago, Marinette had been desperate to know what had occurred. Now it finally looked like she was about to hear an account from a first hand witness.

"It was all my fault. We were best friends." Nina began, smiling into the distance, her eyes shimmering with distant, happy memories. "Emilie and I had always been inseparable. I was doing some research on eastern Asia, particularly Tibet, for some fashion ideas. That's when I came across the legends of magical jewels that bestowed the owner with great powers. Once you start digging deep enough, you start to notice these heroes – or villains – throughout history. I became convinced that they were real. I wanted to find the temple of the guardians and meet them. Emilie didn't believe me."

Nina laughed to herself slightly before continuing. "I tricked her into coming to Tibet with me. After all my research, I was so sure that I would be able to locate the temple. After hiking for days, I couldn't believe it when I actually finally found it. Well, Emilie sure as hell believed then. The guardians were shocked that we had stumbled across them. But they knew right away that we were something special. It was then that we were chosen to be miraculous wielders. I was given the peacock, while Emilie was given the butterfly."

Marinette listened intently, her mouth hanging open slightly in shock. Nina chuckled slightly at her expression before she abruptly got up and walked to the other side of the room. Marinette and Tikki watched her curiously before Nina walked back over carrying what looked like a photo album in her hand.

"Wait…" Tikki interjected, causing Nina to freeze just before she turned to sit back down again. "Master Fu always blamed himself over choosing the miraculous holder that became corrupted with power. Yet you just refer to the guardians as a whole giving you the miraculous."

Nina shrugged. "Maybe it was this Master Fu who gave us our miraculous. I don't remember his name if he ever mentioned it to us. It was a very long time ago, Tikki – around twenty years ago."

Tikki thought for a moment before seeming to accept Nina's answer. Marinette smiled down at her kwami before watching Nina as she sat back down and opened the photo album. She placed the large book between both her and Marinette. Marinette instinctively grabbed hold of the opposite page and gazed down in wonder at all of the newspaper cut outs that were inside. There were many pictures of two women, one dressed in peacock inspired attire, while the other was dressed in butterfly attire.

 _LE PAON AND APATURE FEED THE HOMELESS THIS XMAS_

 _CHILDREN SAVED FROM BURNING BUILDING BY PARISIAN HEROES_

 _NEW HEROES AMAZE PARIS_

Marinette couldn't help but smile at all the headlines and images.

"La Peon? Was that your name?" Marinette asked, peeling her eyes away from the newspaper cut outs to smile up at Nina.

Nina smiled back and nodded.

Marinette looked back down at the images. Nina really was good. She had clearly just resorted to desperate measures in order to get her miraculous back. Marinette would probably do the same thing if Tikki had ever been taken from her. She would not rest until she knew that her kwami was safe and that her power was not being abused. However, Nina's expression soon turned grave again and she closed the book sadly; looking at the images again seemed to pain her.

"We were so proud to be heroes." Nina continued with her story. "But it seemed that wasn't enough for her. She wanted much more. She wanted to get her hands on the ladybug and cat miraculous. She wanted that absolute power and to bend the universe to her will. Her heart began to grow dark. She stole my boyfriend away from me and began to push me out of her life. I had a feeling that something was wrong, but…I never acted on it. When she had a child, that's when I started to grow even more concerned. I confronted her one day and we battled…and I lost. In my weakened state, she stole my miraculous from me and left me for death."

Marinette gasped, tears welling up in her eyes over the thought of everything that Nina had gone through. To have her best friend betray her like that must have been heart breaking. Marinette couldn't even force herself to imagine Chat Noir ever betraying her. She knew that he never could. She trusted him with her life. But she knew that if Chat Noir ever did betray her in any way, then she would be absolutely devastated.

"After that, I don't really know much about what happened." Nina leaned back slightly in her chair. "Leon had also been seeking the temple for many years as he was previously an amateur archaeologist. He found me and saved me. The other miraculous disappeared when the temple was attacked and Emilie was thrown into the void, leaving her miraculous behind in the process I'm guessing. That's where it must have been found by Hawkmoth and now Hawkmoth has my miraculous too."

"But…why hasn't he used it?" Marinette asked.

Nina thought for a moment. "The only thing I can think of is that it's purely because Hawkmoth strikes me as a coward. He liked to use the butterfly miraculous because it allows him to use other people to fight his battles for him. The peacock miraculous, while it does allow you to control people, you have to be initially close to the target in order for you to begin controlling them. That would mean Hawkmoth would have to be incredibly close to you in order to force you to surrender your miraculous, and in that time, Chat Noir could save you. You can only control one person at a time and you often only have until your miraculous runs out to make them carry out your bidding."

"I see." Marinette mumbled, twiddling with her fingers nervously. The thought of that power made Marinette slightly uncomfortable.

"I beg you, Marinette." Nina turned so she was facing Marinette, her hands clasped together as she pleaded, "Please help me get my miraculous back. I hate to think of it in Hawkmoth's clutches. Then I could help you in your fight to defeat him."

Marinette sighed in defeat. "There's just one problem?"

"What's that?" Nina sounded desperate.

"I don't even know who Hawkmoth is, so I wouldn't even know where to begin looking." Marinette admitted.

"And time is working against us." Tikki chimed in. "We also have a missing Master Fu to look for and Marinette's parents want to move away with her… _tomorrow._ "

Nina smirked. "That's not a problem."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, refusing to let herself get her hopes up.

"I know _exactly_ who Hawkmoth is. Get me my miraculous back and I can help you defeat him and find Master Fu. Together, we can also stop Xing from helping Emilie invade your minds and finally make sure they're defeated. With my experience on your side, you'll be unstoppable." Nina offered, her smirk widening.

"You know who Hawkmoth is?!" Marinette shrieked, both hers and Tikki's eyes widened in shock as Marinette abruptly stood up from the couch. "H-how?!"

"It was very obvious once I looked into it. An old friend of mine who was also fascinated by the miraculous and who is now desperate to bring his missing wife back."

Marinette didn't like where this was going. Her heart leapt into her throat, thudding a little bit faster with every word Nina spoke. Her palms became clammy and a frightened lump formed in her throat at the thought of the possible name that Nina was going to utter next. Marinette prayed that she wasn't right. Prayed with every fibre of her being. She'd had her suspicions before but thought she had been proven wrong. For Adrien's sake, she desperately hoped that she was wrong.

"Gabriel Agreste."

Marinette saw Nina's lips move, but she could barely register the words they were forming. Her gut instinct had been right since that very day she had found the book containing the secrets of the miraculous. But…Gabriel had been akumatized! The person who held the butterfly brooch couldn't akumatize themselves…could they? Master Fu certainly seemed to have had his suspicions when the incident had occurred. How was Adrien going to cope with this? It was great that Marinette now knew so that she could save Paris…but where would that leave Adrien. Defeat the love of her life's father…could Marinette really do something like that?

"You were right, Marinette!" Tikki gasped. "You were right all along!"

"I was." Was all Marinette could squeak out.

"You mean you had your suspicions?" Nina asked, shocked.

Marinette slowly nodded.

Nina chuckled. "You really are perfect for the ladybug miraculous."

"B-but what about Adrien…" Marinette trailed off.

"The boy you love?"

Marinette blushed, bit her lip and looked away.

Nina sighed. "Hawkmoth is an evil that needs to be defeated. It will hurt Adrien of course it would, but I'm sure he would want Paris saved and if that means defeating his father, then that's what must happen. It's just something he's unfortunately going to have to come to terms with. There's nothing that can be done. Hawkmoth needs to be stopped."

Marinette nodded slowly in agreement. She knew if she tried to speak now, she would only end up bursting into tears. Today had been too much. Too much information had been revealed to her, too much had happened and it was all starting to pile on top of her. But she couldn't afford to breakdown right now. She had a job to do. As Ladybug, she needed to defeat Hawkmoth. He had terrorised the city long enough and maybe Nina was right. She would just have to make sure that she was there for Adrien afterwards.

"And after you've retrieved my miraculous. I could use my powers to _persuade_ your parents to change their minds about moving." Nina offered, making Marinette freeze slightly.

"I thought your powers only worked for a limited time?"

Nina shrugged. "In most cases, yes. But I can delve deep into people's minds. I can severe connections, wipe memories and all sorts. The damage afterwards would be permanent unless fixed by your lucky charm ability. I could make it so your parents don't want to move away and you could be free to stay here. Your parents would go on as normal, not knowing what happened."

Marinette bit her lip as her stomach wouldn't stop doing flips. It was a plan that could work. Then she could be free to stay and defeat Hawkmoth, find Master Fu and continue being Ladybug. But to invade her parents mind and wipe their memories of their desire to move…could she do that? Was that the right thing to do? It would help Marinette stay and keep Paris safe, but at what cost to her conscience? Was it fair and just to do such a thing to her parents?

Looking at Tikki for guidance didn't help her as all her kwami did was stare back at Marinette, watching and waiting for her decision.

"This process of wiping their memory…it won't hurt them will it?" Marinette asked.

Nina shook her head. "They won't even realise what's happening."

Marinette's guilt ate away at her, but she knew it was the only way. She looked back at Tikki who once again kept her emotions and thoughts well hidden behind a blank mask. Marinette pleaded to her kwami with her eyes until Tikki finally sighed.

"It's up to you to make the right decision, Marinette." Tikki explained.

Marinette clenched her fists before unclenching them again. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling physically sick at the thought that she was contemplating something like this. But if it was the only way to allow her to stay in Paris and help…then what choice did she really have? It wasn't as if it was something that couldn't be fixed. After all of this was over, she could restore her parents memories. She knew she would carry the guilt of such a thing around with her forever, but she had the safety of Chat Noir, Master Fu and the city of Paris to think about.

"Okay, it's a deal." Marinette choked out her answer.

She could hear Nina shift slightly behind her, but Marinette couldn't bring herself to turn around or even move. She was disgusted with herself. Tikki placed a comforting hand on her cheek and Marinette smiled down at her kwami as best as she could. However, her smile came out as nothing more than a grimace.

"He's likely got it locked away somewhere, fearing that I'd come back for it." Nina explained. "If I know Gabriel and all his pomp, he'll likely have a secret liar."

Marinette finally turned around and nodded. "I suppose there's no time like the present." She said seriously. "Don't worry, I'll get you your miraculous back _tonight_. Tikki, spots on!"

In a burst of pink light, Marinette transformed into Ladybug. She stood before Nina with a determined expression. She knew she would have to meet up with Chat Noir first and tell him about everything that Nina had told her. There was no way she could do this without Chat Noir's help. Taking on Hawkmoth was not going to be easy. But her main objective was to get the peacock miraculous back. Then maybe all of this could be quickly over. The end was near, Ladybug could sense it. It was just within her grasp and all Ladybug had to do now was reach out and take it.

"I knew I could count on you." Nina beamed.

"I won't let you down." Marinette promised. "And soon we can end this together!" She yelled as she opened one of the windows and swung her yo-yo. Nina waved at her and within seconds, Ladybug was gone.

Nina lowered her hand and smirked. "I can't wait, my dear."

* * *

 **Hmmmmm. What do you guys think to all of that? I love how much I've confused some of you. Let me know your theories as I always love to read them. No matter how silly you may think they are, I always love to read them. Pretty much anything is possible. Feel free to let me know your opinions in a review; feedback is awesome. See you guys soon.**


	35. Life of Deception

**How is everyone this fine day? I hope that you've all had a lovely week. Thank you so much for the awesome reviews as always! Your theories are all so cool and fun to read! I just can't help but smirk as I read them. I'm dying for everything to be revealed so you can see whether you're right or not. I just hope that you guys don't attack me when everything is revealed ahaha.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Five: Life of Deception**

Adrien slowly pushed the front door open to the Agreste family mansion with his shoulder, gripping the heavy gramophone with both hands. He huffed as he managed to shove himself through the door, his arms growing tired from carrying such a heavy object half way across Paris. Adrien almost couldn't believe that he was carrying the most powerful objects in the universe. They were in there somewhere hidden beneath the gramophone, it was just a case of accessing them. Ladybug had said she was sure there was some sort of code, but Adrien knew they would never be able to guess it. For now, they were on their own. Their one source of help – Master Fu – was gone. Even though Adrien hadn't known the elderly man for very long, he was extremely worried about him.

He hoped that Marinette was alright as well. He wished that he could be there for her right now. He couldn't even imagine the stress that she must be experiencing right now. There was nothing Adrien longed for more, than to be able to take the pain away from her. Why couldn't it be him going through all of this instead of her? There had to be a way to keep her from moving away, Adrien was pretty confident about that. Her parents weren't completely unreasonable people. There had to be a way to persuade them to stay for Marinette's sake. Sunset couldn't get here quick enough, then he could be with his lady again and they could come up with a plan. Unfortunately he would be Chat Noir and wouldn't be able to hold her in his arms.

Kicking the door shut, Adrien began trying to carrying the gramophone through the hallway and up to his room as quickly as he could. Unfortunately that required sneaking past his father's office. The last thing Adrien wanted was to try and explain the situation to his father. No doubt his father would want to know why Adrien had carried a very old looking gramophone home with him. Having a strict father certainly didn't make his superhero life easy. But Adrien had to admit that his house was probably the safest place to hide this thing. No doubt who ever had taken Master Fu had been after the miraculous and it wouldn't surprise him if they came back looking again. They must not know that Master Fu kept them hidden in the gramophone, otherwise it wouldn't have been so carelessly tossed to the other side of the room like it had been. At least his house had a high tech security system and if anyone tried to break in and retrieved it after potentially discovering where they were kept hidden, at least it would be better defended, even if Adrien wasn't around.

Adrien had almost made it to the stairs and was beginning to think he was in the clear when he suddenly frozen at the sound of a door opening behind him. Even if it was just Nathalie or his bodyguard, he would still be screwed as they would tell his father. Adrien held his breath and didn't dare turn around as he heard footsteps leave what sounded like his father's office.

"Adrien?"

It _was_ his father.

Adrien immediately felt his heart rate begin to accelerate in his chest. _Why?_ Why did fate seem to hate him so much? Still not daring to turn around, Adrien began wrecking his brain for any possible lie or explanation that would make his behaviour look the least weird to his father. His father was incredibly nosy and needed to know where Adrien was going and every detail of what he had been doing throughout the day. It was just a shame that his father didn't put this much effort into actually being there for Adrien and spending time with him, he thought to himself bitterly.

"Where have you been?" Gabriel demanded sternly.

"I…ummm…" Adrien panicked as he struggled to think of a good enough, believable excuse. "I…was at Nino's. It was an emergency and he really needed my help."

Adrien finally turned around slightly to look at his father, though he didn't dare look into Gabriel's steely grey eyes. _Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it,_ Adrien silently begged. He could feel his father's eyes boring holes into him and in his peripheral vision, Adrien could just about see his father standing in his usual sophisticated, rigid position, keeping his posture straight and his hands behind his back. No doubt his eyes were narrowed as he stared intensely at his son.

"So urgent that you failed to take your body guard with you like I order you to do so when you leave the house." Gabriel was beginning to sound impatient.

"I'm sorry father," Adrien apologised, trying to stay on his good side, "But Nino really needed my help."

"What is that you're carrying?"

Adrien gulped. "Errr…a gramophone."

"Where did you get that old, disgusting thing?"

"It was…errr…Nino's. I'm holding onto it for him for a few days while he sorts some…umm…stuff out." Adrien cringed at how bad at lying he was. There was no way his father was going to believe him and Adrien knew it. There was no way his father would let him keep this gramophone now that he'd seen it. Gabriel had already admitted that he found it disgusting. It didn't match the aesthetic of their house which his father was very particular about, so Adrien would be forced to get rid of it. He just hoped that he could get it to Ladybug on time before his father threw it out personally. If he could just hold onto it until then…but Adrien was doubting his chances.

His father was quiet for a moment until his stern voice finally broke the heavy silence.

"Let me see it."

Adrien remained frozen.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed even more. "Let me see it," He commanded again, more authoritarian this time.

Adrien bit his lip, knowing there was no talking his way out of this. Very slowly, he brought the gramophone around, still making sure to try and keep it as hidden as possible, only showing his father the smallest portion of it that he could manage. Gabriel kept his eyes narrowed as he moved them to stare down at the gramophone in Adrien's hands. He stared at it carefully, his facial expression not giving anything away. All the while, Adrien continued to sweat nervously, wishing that he knew what was going on inside his father's head.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed even more before the sound of the phone in Gabriel's office loudly ringing nearly caused Adrien to jump out of his skin. Gabriel looked back towards his office and then back towards Adrien, narrowing his eyes at his son again.

"Fine. You may look after it. But I don't want it kept here long," Gabriel ordered before marching back towards his office, closing the door behind him.

Adrien forced himself to take a deep calming breath, hoping that his heart would stop beating a mile a minute soon. He was starting to get worried that he might go into cardiac arrest or something. Finally forcing himself to move, Adrien darted up the stairs and towards his room as quickly as he could. As soon as he was inside, he dropped the gramophone onto his bed and closed his bedroom door, collapsing against it after he had done so. He took another deep breath and slid down the door, tucking his knees under his chin as he sat down on the floor. Plagg flew out of his shirt pocket with an amused look on his face.

"Wow, that was a close one," Plagg chuckled.

Adrien glared at his kwami. "This isn't funny. Master Fu is missing and I need to make sure I look after the other miraculous for Ladybug. If she found out that I had let my father toss it out, she'd kill me."

"Relax, kid," Plagg said, lying down on Adrien's pillow, "Master Fu is experienced and can look after himself and the other miraculous are perfectly safe. Master Fu is the only person who knows how to get inside. Heck, not even I know how to get in. I must say that it always offended me that the old guardian never trusted me."

"Why did Master Fu never trust you?" Adrien questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

Plagg sighed. "Sometimes us kwamis can fall into the wrong hands. If we know all the secrets to the miraculous, then it would be easy for the wrong person to get them out of us. But I'd like to see them try it on me."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "All they'd have to do is bribe you with cheese."

"Hey!"

Adrien ignored Plagg's outburst, standing up instead and heading towards his bed. He stared down at the gramophone before delicately running his fingers across the old, dark wood. It felt rough beneath his fingers and Adrien wondered if any of the other kwamis would know what to do. Had Master Fu's kwami been captured as well? Adrien sure hoped not. If they didn't have a miraculous, they would have the advantage, but if they had even one, then it was level the playing field between them.

Sitting down on the edge of his bed, Adrien stared out of his large window. He wondered, his heart aching as he did so, what Marinette was doing right now. Was she breaking the news to Alya and spending a last few hours with her? Was she wandering around alone somewhere trying to clear her head? His heart ached at the thought of her being alone out there without him by her side to try and make her feel better. He would do anything in his power to make Marinette happy and keep her here in Paris where she wanted to be. Even if she did move away, there was no way Adrien was giving up on her. He had waited years for his lady's heart and now that he had it, he wasn't going to give it up, not without a fight.

The sun was beginning to set, moving lower and lower in the sky, filling Adrien's room with orange light as it reflected off the windows of the building across from his house. He would have to leave soon. Then him and Ladybug could hopefully come up with some sort of plan. Time kept ticking by incredibly slowly, causing Adrien to become twitchy. There was nothing that could occupy his mind right now. The waiting was killing him. He just wanted to be with his lady right now. Making sure that she was okay and actively doing something to try and fix their situation and rescue Master Fu.

The memories of finding Master Fu missing began to replay through his mind. Adrien had a deep sinking feeling as to who might be responsible, but he had little to no evidence to back up the wild accusations his mind kept coming up with. No evidence except some dreams conjured up by two creepy shadow monsters that had been stalking them for weeks. Plagg was right, he did need to take those visions with a pinch of salt…yet he still couldn't shake the thought of how scarily accurate they had seemingly been so far. Adrien had no knowledge of Nina and his mother being best friends. However his dream had apparently been true, as confirmed by the photographs he had found in his mother's office. Had she really been a superhero? Had she really owned the butterfly brooch and worked together with Nina who was known as Le Paon? Ladybug had said so herself that she was suspecting that the peacock miraculous was behind all of this. What if that was what Nina had returned for? What if she was back for revenge and was after the ladybug and cat miraculous?

Adrien's head was beginning to hurt with all of the thoughts that were swirling around in his mind. Each one pounded against the inside of his skull, begging for attention. It was all too much. He had wanted to tell Ladybug everything in the moment she had voiced her opinion. He had come so close to just letting everything spill out. Luckily he managed to stop himself. It wasn't the right time. He couldn't afford to do that to Ladybug right now, not when she really needed him. If he knew Ladybug like he thought he did, then she would likely be extremely angry with him and try to push him away, insisting that she could face these issues on her own. She could be so frustratingly stubborn sometimes.

"Hey, Plagg?" Adrien asked, turning towards his kwami who had now started munching away through his secret stash of camembert.

Plagg's ear twitched indicating that he was listening, but otherwise said nothing. He continued chewing nosily on his cheese, stinking up Adrien's bedroom, though luckily he was growing used to the smell by now.

"Do you think Ladybug was right?" Adrien asked worriedly. "That the peacock miraculous holder might be behind all of this?"

Plagg swallowed his mouthful of cheese. "I don't know, kid."

"Because what if those visions I saw were true?" Adrien got up and began nervously pacing his room. "What if Nina _was_ Le Paon and she turned evil like my visions suggested and now she's back for…I dunno…revenge or something? And…oh god…Marinette has been working for her!"

"So?"

"So Marinette is Ladybug!" Adrien gasped. "Do you think Nina knows that Marinette is Ladybug and now she's targeting her?"

"I doubt it." Plagg took a huge bite of cheese before speaking again with his mouth full, making his words slightly muffled. "Ladybug always seemed strict with keeping her identity a secret so how would some random fashion designer manage to figure out what her true identity was?"

Adrien paled. "Maybe exactly how I did. Maybe she caught Marinette transforming or something?"

"But how would she know to follow Marinette in the first place?"

"Well…maybe she followed Ladybug like I did."

"I think you're looking too much into this." Plagg rolled his eyes. "If Nina was the peacock miraculous holder then how did she lose her miraculous without dying? If she was evil and corrupted by power, then someone would likely have to pry her miraculous out of her cold, dead hands. Her foe would likely see her as too dangerous to be kept alive."

"I don't know."

"And if she was after both of your miraculous, why hasn't she shown an interested in you?" Plagg continued to point out the flaws in Adrien's theories.

"I don't know."

"Even if she was just after the ladybug miraculous, don't you think she would have taken it by now? While Marinette was working for her, don't you think it would have been easy for Nina to take Marinette off guard and steal her miraculous?"

" _I don't know._ "

"You see what I mean?" Plagg rolled his eyes again. "You're jumping to conclusions with little evidence to back it up. If Nina did have some sort of evil plan, then I sure as heck would love to know what it was, because it would be an unusual one. Different than the typical steal other miraculous type of plan. And when you're corrupted by the power of the miraculous, that's usually the only thing on their mind. It's like some sort of sickness."

Adrien turned around to stare at Plagg, slightly nervous and unsure whether he should be asking the question he was dying to ask or not. "Plagg? Have…have you ever been in the possession of a corrupt miraculous holder?"

Plagg shuddered. "Sure I have," He admitted a little shakily, "In fact I don't know a single kwami who hasn't had to deal with such a thing. Power, power, power and more power. That's all they ever care about. Miraculous magic becomes almost like a drug to them. Once they get a taste of it, they can become addicted and feel like they need more to satisfy their craving. And of course it's typically the ladybug and cat miraculous they go after because, and I don't mean to brag but, I am one of the most powerful ones." He smirked.

Adrien blinked in shock, struggling to take all of this new information in.

"Of course that's why the guardians were established," Plagg continued to explain, "So that the miraculous could be kept away from evil hands and so that a holder could be carefully chosen based on their personality and characteristics. They tried their best to choose someone who would be least likely to go bad. Of course, mistakes could be made sometimes. You humans can be pretty unpredictable sometimes. Even the nicest, most innocent person can go bad under the right circumstances."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that," Adrien whispered, not really knowing what else to say.

Plagg shrugged, staring down at his cheese. "We're kwamis. We're immortal. We get over it."

Adrien looked at Plagg slightly suspiciously, not sure whether to believe him or not. However, Adrien decided not to push his kwami too much and decided to let that particular subject drop. Instead, Adrien took out his phone and stared at the time, waiting as the seconds painstakingly ticked by, dying to see Ladybug again. He felt so useless sat here right now. He would have to make sure to try and hide the gramophone before he left, he mentally noted to himself. Just in case his father or Nathalie came snooping through his room, hoping to get a better look at it. He was confident they wouldn't be able to get inside and see what it really was, but he wouldn't put it past them to throw it out while he was gone or confiscate it off him.

Unlocking his phone, Adrien found himself absent-mindedly browsing through his photos until he came across a few photos he had taken with his friends. Marinette was smiling happily in the background. In the ones where they were stood next to each other, her cheeks had often turned pink and Adrien found himself astonished at how he had failed to notice all of this before. He had always thought Marinette was just an awkward girl who got flustered easily. But now that he thought back, it was only really around him that it seemed to happen. She was always fine with Nino or any other boy in their class. It had always just been him. And here was him thinking that she hated him. It turned out to be the opposite of that. All along, his lady had not only been sat behind him in class, but crushing on him as well. Could things get anymore weirdly strange?

"You should have told her, you know."

Plagg's voice brought Adrien out of his deep thoughts. He looked up at his kwami to see him staring at the photo of Marinette that Adrien had up on his phone screen.

"Huh?" Adrien replied in confusion.

"You should have told her everything today. That you know that she's Ladybug as well as the details of the visions that you've been having. Keeping all of these things a secret from her isn't going to end well and you know that." Plagg lightly scolded.

"Since when do you care anyway?" Adrien raised an eyebrow. Plagg was often just lazily along for the ride and very rarely offered Adrien any advice. He was often just left to figure everything out on his own while Plagg just laughed at him and stuffed his face with Adrien's cheese supply.

Plagg frowned. "Of course I care. And I don't want you doing anything stupid that could potentially put both you and Ladybug in huge danger."

"I've got it under control, Plagg," Adrien insisted, "It's just now is not a good time because I know what Ladybug is like. She'll get angry and then that will further hinder everything. I'll tell her after we figure out a way to get her to stay in Paris and after we've found Master Fu."

Plagg narrowed his eyes. "You really are stupid sometimes, kid. You know that, right?"

Adrien sighed in frustration. "It's the best option I've got right now."

Plagg then chuckled. "I wonder what your mother would think of this whole situation. After all, she seemed to weirdly know Marinette when she was a baby."

Adrien twitched slightly and stared down at the ground with wide eyes. With everything else that had started happening, he had almost forgotten about that little detail. His mother was in possession of a copy of Marinette's birth certificate and a passport from when she was a baby. It made him wonder what else his mother was hiding. Should he have at least told Marinette about that? But if he had, then she would want to know more and would probably easily see that Adrien was withholding information. Not to mention, that would expose his own identity and open up another can of worms that they were in no position to deal with right now. Marinette had a right to know, Adrien knew that. Just not right now. Not until he could find out more and maybe help provide her with an explanation.

At that thought, Adrien abruptly stood up from his bed, making Plagg look up at him with a confused expression.

"Come on, Plagg," Adrien said, determined, "We're going snooping again."

"Oooh," Plagg sang excitedly, "Count me in."

The little black kwami instantly flew inside Adrien's shirt pocket again as he made his way towards his bedroom door. Adrien pressed his ear against the door, listening for any noise outside carefully. There was nothing. The house was completely silent. Adrien then opened his door a crack and peaked outside. Luckily, his bodyguard wasn't standing outside his door and the hallway between his room and his mother's office was perfectly clear.

Opening the door even more, Adrien peered down over the banister and down towards his father's office. The door was closed and there was no sign of his father anywhere. Taking a deep breath, Adrien stepped out of his room and quietly closed the door behind him. He then tip-toed down the hallway as quietly as he could, cringing every time his shoes squeaked against the tiled floor. Fortunately, Adrien made it to his mother's office and there was still no sign of anyway. Plagg peaked out from Adrien's shirt and he nodded down at his kwami. Plagg chuckled and disappeared inside the lock of the door, working his magic before the door slowly creaked open again.

Once again, the stale air hit Adrien and his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness of the room. He quietly stepped inside and shut the door behind him, instantly running towards the disorganised desk again. The desk was still covered in dust and paperwork and he signalled for Plagg to open to the locked drawer again where he knew all the more secretive stuff was kept. Plagg did as he was told before excitedly settling on Adrien's shoulder to watch the show.

Immediately, Adrien began rifling through all the papers and randomly pulled out a handful of things and set them down on the desk. He sat down in his mother's chair. The old wood and leather creaked against his body weight, making Adrien cringe slightly. He listened carefully for any movement outside the office and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't hear any. His heart was in his mouth but this needed to be done. He needed to try and find answers. Why did his mother have Marinette's important documents? Had she really been a superhero? And what exactly had happened between her and Nina?

Biting his lip, terrified over what he might find, he opened one of the folders and was shocked when a small card slipped out between the papers. He picked it up off the floor and opened it. It looked like some sort of congratulations card and Adrien read the elegant handwriting inside.

 _To Emilie and Gabriel,_

 _Congratulations on the birth of your son._

 _All my love,_

 _Nina._

At those words, Adrien found his mind cast back to the very first day he had met Nina. She had mentioned that the last time she had met him, he was only just a baby. The card's message was extremely short and honestly not something Adrien would have thought someone would give to their best friend when they had just had a baby. It seemed that despite the argument they had in Adrien's vision, his mother and Nina still tried to make an effort to be friends and communicate with each other. So why had his mother or father never mentioned Nina to him? Something big and bad must have happened between when he was born and his earliest memory.

Desperate to find out, Adrien began looking through all the paper work again. A lot of it was nonsensical and were letters and notes that seemed completely innocent. However, it didn't take long for Adrien to find some interesting stuff. The handwriting stood out first as he came across another piece of paper. It was exactly the same as the one in the card congratulating his parents on his birth: Nina's.

 _Dear Emilie,_

 _Congratulations on your pregnancy. I always imagined for myself that I would be married and have started a family by now. But alas I find myself stuck here and the guardians won't let me leave. They claim they want to keep an eye on me and I get that you all think I'm acting weird, but I promise it's not for the reasons you think. Once it's all over, I'll explain everything to you I promise. I have such big plans! I always said I wanted to make a huge impact on the world and I think I've managed to find something even better. At least that's what the crazy guardian tells me anyway. You know the one who's blind and told you that there was a cat inside your body? Normally, I can't understand a word that woman in saying, but now she refuses to stop calling me 'the mother of the universe' which has me incredibly excited for what is to come. I'm feeling much better, so don't worry about me._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Nina._

Adrien frowned in confusion. Nina sounded completely deluded in that letter and it was clear that her mental state was deteriorating. What intrigued Adrien even more was that his mother appeared to have written something on the letter. She had circled the words 'mother of the universe' and drawn a huge question mark on the side of the page. It looked like his mother had been just as confused by this letter at the time as he was now.

After he put that letter down, Adrien pulled out another. It was written in Mandarin, but luckily Adrien could easily translate it.

 _Dear Emilie,_

 _The baby is settling in really well. She's very happy and healthy and I don't think we have anything to worry about. I will raise her to be kind and caring. Despite everything, a lot of the guardians took to her immediately, but I've left the temple for now. Master Fu thought it would be best that we stayed there, but I felt like it was too obvious – personally I think he just misses the baby. We'll keep hidden for now just in case. I know you said that Nina was dead, but I just want to be absolutely sure. If you don't hear anything from me, it means that everything is fine._

 _Kind regards,_

 _Xing._

That name again. His mother seemed to have been in regular correspondence with this Xing guy, whoever he was. Wait…so his mother did know Master Fu! Just like he had seen in his vision. And wait…they were talking about Nina being… _dead?!_ His mother had thought that Nina was dead?! But…how was that possible? What had happened? Nina looked very much alive to him right now. He thought he would be able to easily find answers, but instead all his snooping was doing was raising more questions.

Frustrated, Adrien pushed the folder out of the way, along with some of the paper work that was piled on his mother's desk. Staring down at the desk in defeat, Adrien then froze as something caught his eye. There was a piece of paper on her desk that looked like had been hastily hidden under a pile of books and he easily recognised his mother's handwriting. It looked like a letter…a letter that she had never finished…

Intrigued, Adrien picked it up and read it, his eyes growing wide and his stomach churning sickeningly as he did so.

 _Dear Sabine,_

 _Words cannot begin to describe how truly sorry I am. I have caused so much damage and messed things up so much to the point where we are all in danger. I was beginning to think it was weird that I hadn't heard anything from the guardians in so long and I've only just managed to locate Master Fu. He told me everything. After what happened with Xing, she went back to the temple and slaughtered everyone inside. Master Fu was the only one who managed to escape and has been living in hiding ever since. He blames himself for what happens, but it's all my fault. I was a coward. Now I must go back to China and finish what I started. But if I don't make it, please tell Adrien and Gabriel how much I love them. They're the most precious things in my world and if I have a chance of making them safe again, then I must take it. When Marinette is old enough to understand, please explain everything to her. Even if it turns out that she isn't destined to be the ladybug miraculous holder. There's nothing I would love more than for her to live in blissful ignorance, but sadly the world is not so kind. Lies and deceit always have a way of coming back to haunt us. But Marinette has a right to know that_

Adrien growled in frustration at the realisation that his mother had never finished the letter. She knew Sabine? She knew some secret regarding Marinette? She knew that Marinette would likely end up being the holder of the ladybug miraculous? Adrien was struggling to wrap his head around all of this. He fell back in the chair and even Plagg was remaining unusually quiet. His mother had gone back to China to fight whatever evil was out there threatening them? Was that…was that how she had disappeared? Had she left in a hurry half way through writing this letter, never getting her chance to explain things? Had she lost the fight to this evil? What if…what if that evil had been Hawkmoth? She had gone out there with her miraculous, fought him and had been defeated and then Hawkmoth took her miraculous?

But wait…Adrien read back over the letter. His mother had said 'she.' So who was this person? Nina? Adrien was so confused and terrified right now. He needed to get out of there. He needed some space to think. He needed some fresh air. He needed Ladybug.

Gasping and panicking, Adrien stood up from the desk chair as quickly as he could and looked back up towards the door. His yelp of surprise and fear became caught in his throat as soon as he had realised that he was no longer alone in the room. Blocking out the light of the hallway, stood the tall, menacing figure of Gabriel Agreste.

Adrien stared at his father with wide eyes. He hadn't heard any movement or his father opening the door. Gabriel stared at Adrien with narrowed eyes as Adrien remained frozen in place, knowing there was nothing he could do or say that could save him from this. He was officially dead. He had always been forbidden from entering his mother's office. Even more so after she had disappeared. But now it seemed like Adrien had proof that his mother was dead. Proof that Gabriel needed to realise instead of him just clinging onto the fact that she was missing. Maybe now he could help his father accept that fact.

"Father…" Adrien gasped out, "Mother is…is gone."

At those words, Gabriel's face seemed to soften slightly. However the words that came out of his mouth were still harsh sounding. "What are you doing in here?" He asked, closing his eyes and keeping his hands clasped behind his back.

"I want answers, father!" Adrien demanded, feeling brave all of a sudden. He was tired of things being kept from him. It was clear now more than ever that his father knew more than he was letting on about what happened to his mother. There was no way Adrien was going to lie down and accept not having answers anymore. Something was going on. Something big. And Adrien wanted to know.

Gabriel said nothing.

Adrien glared at his father. "I think she was killed by a miraculous user or something. You know those jewels that Ladybug and Chat Noir have? Mother had one too!"

"I know." Gabriel growled out quietly, but Adrien didn't hear.

"There seems to be some huge conspiracy going on! Maybe Hawkmoth or Le Paon got hold of her or something," Adrien mused aloud, talking rapidly in his panicked state. His breathing was coming out in harsh gasps as he began running his fingers through his blond hair, tears welling up in his eyes.

"It wasn't Hawkmoth." Gabriel responded flatly.

"And how would you know that?!" Adrien demanded.

Gabriel slowly opened his eyes, locking them onto Adrien. "Because _I'm_ Hawkmoth."

* * *

 ***gasps* Please don't throw things at me. I know this cliffhanger is mean. But hey, even though it's cruel, it keeps you guys coming back for more…I hope. Anyway, as always, please please please pretty please feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review as it helps me out immensely. See you guys soon!**


	36. Parental Sins

**Hiya! I feel like this update took a while and I'm sorry about that. Mixture of writers block with another of my stories and personal circumstances had me curling up into a ball and staring at a blank screen, hoping the chapters would just write themselves. Hello to all of those new people who have been binge reading this story. Sorry if I kept any of you awake. Thank you to those who were kind enough to leave a review. It really helps me out.**

 **CAUTION: This chapter contains descriptions that may be disturbing.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Six: Parental Sins  
**

Adrien's mind went completely blank. He felt…nothing. Just a vast emptiness. His body was hollow, filled with nothing but the echoing sound of his father's words. Adrien's eyes were unblinking and his expression never changed, not even an inch. There wasn't a single flicker of emotion in his face. Nothing but a passive neutrality. The endless echoing of those words continued and Adrien continued to stare at his father blankly, unable to process what he had just said. His father was currently difficult to read as well. His hands were still clasped behind his back, his posture sophisticated as always, looking as if he had not just admitted to something so grotesque and life changing.

 _Had_ his father really just said those monstrous words? This…this had had to be some sort of sick joke. His…his own father? No. It couldn't be possible. Adrien refused to believe it. Why would his father just come out and say such a thing? Was he trying to protect someone? There was no way the villain he and Ladybug had been fighting this whole time was his own father. Surely the universe wouldn't be that cruel to him? That would mean losing his father; the only family he had left. What would Ladybug think of him?

As the thoughts bombarded him, Adrien shook his head in the hopes of dispersing them. Why was he thinking like that? Of course what his father had said couldn't be true. This was his father. Despite his coldness, this was still the man who had raised him and who Adrien loved dearly. Either this was some sick lie, or Adrien had completely misheard what his father had said. Because something like that…it just wasn't possible. No. Not his father. Gabriel Agreste may be a lot of things, but he wasn't an evil villain who seized control over the citizens of Paris and used them for his own means. His father wasn't some power hungry monster, desperate to get his hands on the ladybug and cat miraculous.

"N-no," Adrien suddenly snapped, "Why would you say such a horrible lie?"

He narrowed his eyes at his father whose stance and expression remained unchanging. Gabriel's grey eyes were impossible to read, like steel shutters, preventing access to his mind and soul. Adrien clenched his fists at his side as he tried to fight back tears. He could feel Plagg shifting slightly, hiding himself behind the back collar of Adrien's white shirt.

"Because it's true," Gabriel responded flatly.

Adrien shook his head. "No," He repeated, "You might be a lot of things father, but you're not an evil villain. Now just stop with these sick lies. Why are you doing this, huh? Are you trying to protect someone?"

Gabriel squeezed his eyes closed and became visibly tense, "And I know that you're Chat Noir."

Gasping, Adrien took an automatic step back. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Gabriel's eyes snapped open again. "Enough of the act, Adrien. I've known that you're Chat Noir for a very long time. It wasn't that hard to figure out. I needed to tell you now because of the danger you're in. I didn't want you to find out like this. I didn't ever want you to find out."

Before Gabriel had even finished speaking, Adrien had already begun shaking his head in denial. "No. No, I refuse to believe it. Y-you can't be Hawkmoth. You're my dad! You can't be my enemy!"

"I am not your enemy, son," Gabriel growled out, "The true enemy is Ladybug."

"L-Ladybug?" Adrien narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"This is why I had to tell you. Ladybug is the greatest threat the world has ever known. At any moment, she will try and claim our miraculous. Yours included. We need to work together. We need to capture Ladybug before she gets to us first. We need to seize her miraculous." Gabriel explained, still sounding somewhat calm and collected, however the desperate edge to his tone became more and more apparent the longer he spoke.

"You're insane!" Adrien cried out. However, he soon gasped when he saw something small and purple beginning to peak out from behind his father's shoulder. It floated out from behind Gabriel, it's eyes wide and full of fear. It's small form was visibly shaking slightly as it watched the scene play out. It…it was a kwami. Light purple with a darker purple swirl decorating the top of its head. Purple wings protruded from its back and it looked incredibly familiar. That's when Adrien gasped. This was the butterfly kwami! The very kwami that had introduced itself to his mother in his vision. Though Adrien couldn't remember its name. But yet, it looked so different now. Before, the kwami had seemed happy and confident. Now it looked…almost ill. The kwami was slightly curled in on itself, cowering in fear and starting at Adrien intently with its purple eyes, though Adrien couldn't read whatever the kwami was trying to silently say to him.

"Maybe some visual proof will help you," Gabriel mused before thrusting his arms upwards and then crossing them diagonally over his chest, "Nooroo, dark wings, rise!"

Adrien gasped and shielding his eyes slightly as bright purple butterflies began to materialise through the floor and the walls, completely surrounding his father and blocking him from view. Adrien's eyes burned from the brightness, though he couldn't bring himself to look away. It was like some sick part of his brain needed to see this. Soon enough, his father emerged again, though it didn't look like his father anymore. Before him stood the villain he and Ladybug had been fighting for years. The villain who had manipulated and enslaved his friends, forcing him and Ladybug to fight them. The villain who was responsible for so much destruction. The villain who had almost gotten him killed on multiple occasions…almost killed his lady.

Hawkmoth stood perfectly still in front of the doorway, his legs slightly parted as he held onto his cane with both hands, pressing it against the ground. From behind the grey mask that covered most of his face, the grey, steely eyes of his father stared back at him, watching his every movement carefully. The glowing purple butterflies, uncorrupted akumas, fluttered around him, lighting up the otherwise dark room.

His father was Hawkmoth. All along, Hawkmoth had been right under his nose. His own father…his own father who had caused his friends and all of Paris so much suffering. His own father had hurt his lady on multiple occasions. His own father was the villain who terrorised the city. His father had taken his mother's miraculous and abused it, using its power for his own gain. At those thoughts, Adrien doubled over slightly, clutching his stomach and chest in pain as it felt like he had been kicked in the gut while someone else reached into his chest and tore his heart to shreds.

"YOU EVIL MONSTER!" Adrien abruptly screamed, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Hawkmoth's eyes widened and he took a slight step back, but all Adrien could see was red. His father was an evil villain, and as a superhero, it was Adrien's job to take him down. He wasn't going to allow familial ties to stop him from doing the right thing. His father was a monster. Abusing the power of a miraculous that was rightfully his mother's. Trying to turn him against his partner and the love of his life. Using and abusing his friends. Nearly killing both him and his lady. There was no way he was going to let his father walk out of here unless it was in handcuffs. He could mourn and break down later, but right now he had a score to settle. There was nothing Adrien would love more in that moment than to feel his fist connecting with his father's face. Adrien was already smirking just imagining the crack that his father's bones would make. He would pay for everything that he had done. He wasn't Adrien's father. A father was supposed to love and protect their children, not intentionally put them in danger for their own selfish needs. A good father puts their children first. A good father would never do something like this!

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien ordered, quickly transforming into Chat Noir in a burst of green light.

Hawkmoth stumbled back slightly again, but as soon as Chat Noir was done transforming, he held his ground. Chat Noir crouched into a fighting stance, allowing his anger to bubble up and control him. Tears stung the corners of his eyes, but Chat blinked them away. He refused to look weak in front of his father right now. He didn't want Hawkmoth to see how much it all hurt. How much his body burned and begged him to bow down and fall apart. If Chat Noir fell apart right now, that was all his fa – Hawkmoth – needed to take advantage.

"You wish to fight me?" Hawkmoth frowned at his son, talking in a familiar, scolding fatherly tone that only served to provoke Chat Noir even more. How dare he talk to Chat Noir like that! He had no right over Chat Noir anymore. He had forfeited any respect Chat Noir had for him the instant he began abusing his mother's miraculous.

"I wish to put you in jail where you belong," Chat Noir snapped, clenching his teeth together and prepping his claws for a fight. He dug his feet into the floor, preparing to sprint towards Hawkmoth at any second and make sure he didn't get the chance to get away.

"I'm your father!" Hawkmoth snapped.

Chat Noir smirked before closing his eyes and chuckling humourlessly. "You _were_ my father." After those words, Chat Noir launched himself at Hawkmoth, pulling his baton from his belt as he did so. He extended his baton and swung it through the air, hoping to knock Hawkmoth to the ground. However, Hawkmoth easily intercepted it with his cane, causing the silver baton to freeze in the air, halted in place by the cane. Chat Noir growled and tried to push against Hawkmoth as much as he could. He never knew his father was such an experienced fighter.

Growling again, Chat Noir pushed himself backwards, panting slightly as he kept his narrowed green eyes on Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth, however, went back to standing perfectly straight, his cane pressed against the ground again as he shot a smug smirk towards his son. The sight of that smirk had Chat Noir wanting to charge at him again, though he now realised that he best option was to try and outsmart Hawkmoth. Brute strength alone didn't seem to be enough as Hawkmoth could easily match him.

"I am not your enemy, Adrien," Hawkmoth asserted, "I only want to help and protect you. Trust me."

"Trust you?!" Adrien screamed, his eyes widened before narrowing again, "How can you expect me to trust you after everything you've done?! You stand there with my mother's miraculous, abusing its power in order to get your hands on the ladybug and cat miraculous to gain absolute power! You akumatized my friends! You've nearly killed me!"

Hawkmoth sighed. "I did what I had to do…for our family."

Chat Noir let out a loud shriek of anger before charging towards Hawkmoth again, this time trying to knock his father off his feet by knocking his legs with his baton. Hawkmoth easily anticipated his move and jumped over the metal staff before diving out of the way. He seemed to be growing increasingly frustrated as he slammed his cane down against the palm of his hand as he glared at Adrien from the other side of the room.

"I did this for your mother." Hawkmoth repeated in a whisper, his eyes beginning to glisten slightly.

"Don't you dare use mom as an excuse!" Adrien screamed, nearly collapsing in pain. Hearing Hawkmoth mention his mother tore at the shredded remains of his heart until there was absolutely nothing left, leaving Chat Noir feeling empty and hollow. The smiling face of his mother danced across his vision. She had been a superhero. The very thing that fought against evil like Hawkmoth.

"She would turn in her grave if she could see what you've become," Adrien snarled, watching as his father winced in pain at his words, but he continued anyway, "And all this time, you knew that she was gone, but yet you never told me. You just told me she'd gone missing!"

"At the time, I couldn't tell you the truth!" Hawkmoth yelled back, beginning to sound hysterical, "You were just a boy! A boy who knew nothing about magic and the reality of superheroes. You think you're the only one suffering because of secrets and lies? Your mother kept things from me too! And now because of all the secrets she got herself involved with, she's gone! But not forever. I can get her back. _We_ can get her back."

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes, relaxing his stance slightly. "What are you talking about?"

Hawkmoth took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He stood up straight once again and his emotionless mask was soon back on his face as he began to speak, "Your mother isn't even technically dead, she's…scattered and trapped, but there's no escape for her. When she left, she had gone to fight the _hero_ who called herself Le Paon, her old partner. Though I'm sure from your snooping, you already know who I'm talking about."

Adrien swallowed before nodding slowly.

"When I found out Emilie was a superhero, I was so fiercely proud of her. She was always so headstrong and brave. But she began to get herself involved in some risky situations, especially when Le Paon began to become obsessed with gaining more power. I begged your mother not to get involved, but –" Hawkmoth cut himself off, clenching his hands into tight fists as he looked down at the floor angrily, "She wouldn't listen. And it was all for nothing! Nina has returned and she's after Ladybug and is very likely to get her. Nina and Ladybug are the enemies. The enemies we need to defeat if we're going to get your mother back."

"We can't bring mom back," Chat Noir growled, "And I'm not going to let you harm a single hair on Ladybug's head!"

Hawkmoth frowned. "If you would just list –"

"You'll have to get through me before I let you hurt her!" Chat Noir shrieked before tightening his grip on his baton and leapt onto the wall, using it to propel him towards Hawkmoth, spinning his baton and using it as a shield as he did so, nothing but anger driving him forward. Anger and the unquenchable instinct to protect his lady.

Flying closer and closer, Adrien pulled his baton back, prepared to attack. But he had given Hawkmoth an opening. Seizing his chance, Hawkmoth swung his cane back. He then swung it forward so fast, that it was nothing but a blur as it glided through the air. Chat Noir felt it before he saw it. The cane painfully collided with his stomach with a powerful blow. It felt like his stomach had been knocked out of place and was now hurdling up his throat. Chat Noir gagged and coughed as pain erupted all throughout his abdomen. The force of the blow sent him flying backwards and the sickening crack of his head hitting the wall echoed throughout the room. Chat Noir groaned as he slid down the wall and collapsed into a heap on the floor. He tried to push himself up, but his head had already begun spinning at a hundred miles per hour. His vision spun so fast, that the room was a total blur. Pain erupted from his head like a powerful, angry volcano, the thick gases released clouding his mind and suffocating him.

" _Adrien!_ " He was vaguely aware of his father calling his name before everything went black as he was unable to resist closing his eyes.

" _Adrien._ "

" _How is my precious baby boy doing?_ "

Mom? Chat Noir's heart lurched in his chest at the sound of her familiar, comforting voice. Where was he? What was going on? There was nothing but darkness surrounding him. He could feel, he could hear, but he couldn't see. Chat Noir squeezed his eyes closed in panic before opening them again, this time blinded by a harsh yellow light. Chat Noir groaned and shielded his eyes with his hands, too scared to close them again in case he ended up back in the dark void.

Thankfully, Chat Noir's eyes began to adjust and he lowered his arms to see that he was stood in the main hall of his family's home. The sun was just beginning to set, reflecting off the large windows on the house across the street, sending bright rays of yellow and orange sunshine into their house. Chat Noir turned to the left to see his mother, radiant and beautiful, smiling down at a small baby in her arms. Smiling down at…him.

Chat Noir gasped at the sight. Was this another vision? However, he didn't get the chance to fully process what was happening as a loud knock on the door made both him and his mother jump. Emilie frowned suspiciously at the door, clutching baby Adrien a little bit tighter to her chest before she gave him a gently kiss on the cheek and placed him in his Moses' basket. She strode towards the door, a frown still on her face before she slowly opened it.

The person on the other side clearly became impatient as they burst through the door without even waiting for an invitation, sending Emilie stumbling back slightly Chat Noir instinctively reached out to catch her, but she simply phased right through him. She managed to right herself before she fell before glaring at the blonde woman who had just burst into their house.

"Guess who's back!" Nina bellowed, smiling brightly before reaching her arms out and pulling a confused and startled Emilie into a tight hug.

"N-Nina? I thought you were supposed to be staying in the temple?" Emilie gasped out.

"Well, I managed to sneak away. I haven't seen you in such a long time," Nina clung onto Emilie tighter. However, Chat Noir watched as Emilie's eyes suddenly widened before she extracted herself from Nina's embrace. Nina was still happily beaming at Emilie, positively glowing. Emilie, meanwhile, looked petrified. Very slowly, Emilie moved her hands up towards the buttons of Nina's expensive looking coat and slowly unfastened them while Chat Noir looked on in confusion. Nina simply watched Emilie's expression carefully, her eyes sparkling like sapphires.

Once Emilie had finally unfastened the last button, Nina's coat slowly fell open. Chat Noir narrowed his eyes, unsure of what was going on until he looked at Nina a little more closely. A very small, but noticeable bump protruded from Nina's stomach and both Emilie's and Chat Noir's eyes widened.

"N-Nina…you're…you're…" Emilie gulped, seeming unable to get the words out.

"Pregnant?" Nina chuckled, "You bet. We've always done everything together, so why not have children together."

Emilie narrowed her eyes. "I can't help but feel like there's more to this."

Nina skipped over towards where baby Adrien lay and cooed down at him. However, Emilie soon strode over and tried her best to stand between the baby and Nina, glaring slightly at Nina as she took a protective stance. Nina took an automatic step back, staring back at Emilie in confusion.

"Who's the father?" Emilie demanded.

"Does it matter?" Nina questioned, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest, "All that matters now is me and my baby. She doesn't need a father, I can take care of her myself.

" _She?_ " Emilie repeated in confusion, "When did you go see a doctor if you've only just got back?"

Nina bit her lip awkwardly. "Well…I haven't exactly seen a doctor yet or had a scan. But I know in my heart that it's going to be a girl."

"Nina!" Emilie gasped. "You're not well enough to have kids!"

"What do you mean 'well'?" Nina snapped, "I'm not ill, I'm fine! I'm having a baby. What's the big deal? You had a baby and you're fine! You get to live a perfect life with your perfect family, so why can't I? Are you really that obsessed with denying me happiness?!"

"That's not what this is and you know it!" Emilie yelled, causing baby Adrien to start crying. "I don't believe you sometimes! You're not fit to raise a child!"

"Says who?" Nina growled.

"Me and all the guardians. The power of the miraculous is making you ill in the head, Nina." Emilie tried to reason. "I'm not trying to control your life and tell you not to have kids, it's just…as your friend…I'm telling you now isn't the right time. You're being foolish and what's worse is an innocent little baby is going to have to pay for your mistakes this time. How far along are you?"

"I don't know, why?" Realisation quickly dawned on Nina's face. "You're disgusting! I'm not getting rid of my baby!"

"I just want to help, Nina." Emilie begged, "You're my friend."

Nina sneered and backed away. "Some friend you are, trying to force me to have an abortion. You always did try and control my life like some overbearing mother!"

"Oh yeah? And what would you know? You don't even have a mother!" As soon as the words left her mouth, Chat Noir could tell that his mother instantly regretted it. She clamped her hands over her mouth and stared at Nina with wide eyes. Nina's eyes widened also, and she took another step back. The colour drained from Nina's face and she clutched her swollen stomach with both hands as she continued to back towards the front door.

"N-Nina…I'm sorry…I didn't meant it…" Emilie gasped out, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's okay," Nina growled out, "We're not staying where we're not wanted."

As the front door slammed behind Nina, the scene before Chat Noir disappeared. The colours and the images rearranged themselves and Chat Noir yelped at the familiar location. The snow pelted down from the sky like small, white bullets. The wind howled all around him, however, nothing could mask the scream of pain echoing from a few feet away. Chat Noir had been here before. He had seen this scene before in other dreams and visions. Why was he constantly shown this place? Who was that woman who lay dying on the mountain? Chat had a horrible feeling that he was about to find out.

In the distance, the light of a lantern was barely visible through the ferocious storm. Chat Noir instantly began trekking through the snow towards it. Just like in his last vision, blood stains began to decorate the otherwise completely white landscape. Chat Noir gulped and ignored it though, focusing instead on the warm glow of the lantern that was growing closer and closer with every arduous step he took. The scream echoed around him again, much louder this time as it caused Chat Noir's ears to ring.

"You shouldn't have tried to transform, what were you thinking?!" He heard his mother's voice cry out over the howling of the wind.

"I-I thought you – ahhhh – wanted a fight." Nina's voice gasped out in pain.

Finally, the two of them came into view, though Chat Noir soon paused at the strange scene before him. Nina lay in the snow, much more heavily pregnant this time. Despite the cold, her face was drenched in sweat and a blue cloak was wrapped around her; the only item protecting her from the elements. A pool of blood surrounded her and it looked like she was growing incredibly weak. Meanwhile, his mother was in her Apatura form, crouched between Nina's bare spread legs, her eyes incredibly panic stricken.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Nina yelled before throwing her head back and screaming again. Blood stained the inside of her legs and Chat Noir's eyes widened as he finally realised what was happening. So…Nina…had a baby? Why was this something else that had never been mentioned? Most importantly, why had Nina never mentioned it? That's when Chat Noir gasped and nearly fell to his knees, feeling sorry for Nina despite everything. It was clear that the birth was going badly wrong. Chat Noir didn't know much about childbirth, but he was pretty sure that there wasn't supposed to this much blood.

Nina carried on screaming until it sounded like her lungs gave out. She gasped for air as he head fell backwards slightly, her eyes glossed over and seemingly unable to register what was happening. Her skin looked like it was already beginning to freeze over and Chat Noir gasped, clasping both hands over his mouth and taking an automatic step back, feeling slightly sick. More blood continued to leak out from between Nina's pale legs and she screamed in pain again.

"I think you've ruptured something," Apatura cried, tears streaking down her face, "I can see the head!"

"I-is she…d-de…?" Nina couldn't bring herself to say the words as she choked on them.

"Push, Nina!" His mother demanded, tearing her grey cloak off her back and holding it ready.

Nina threw her head back and screamed again, however, her scream came out slightly gargled this time. Soon, a baby's cries filled the stormy air and his mother instantly wrapped the tiny baby in her cloak. Chat Noir couldn't see much other than a bloody, gooey mess. It writhed around in his mother's arms crying and reaching up with its little, blood stained hands. A small mop of black hair was just about visible under the cloak as well, the umbilical cord trailing off the baby like a long, thin, pink snake.

His mother stared down at the baby in awe. "It's a girl," She announced, tears forming in her eyes as she stared down at the little baby. Chat Noir frowned as he watched the conflicted expression on his mother's face. She looked heartbroken, yet determined as she stared down at the little baby girl in her arms. The tears finally began cascading down her cheeks and she closed her eyes as she cradled the baby more tightly against her chest, making sure her superhero cloak was protecting the baby from the harsh, unforgiving storm.

Chat Noir then watched as Nina weakly raised her arms, a small smile on her face as she stared at the baby in his mother's arms.

"L-let me…h-hold her…" Nina said weakly, her arms shaking as they remained raised. It looked like Nina was using the last ounce of her strength to reach towards her baby.

Apatura opened her eyes and finally forced herself to look down at Nina. She stood up from her crouched position, keeping the baby pressed tightly against her. The baby carried on crying, screaming as loud as the wind around them. Blood continued to pour from between Nina's legs, but it seemed as though she was trying to ignore it; her thoughts only locked on her baby.

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes at his mother before they widened in horror as she took a step backwards, the baby still screaming and flailing in her arms. Blood dripped down his mother's superhero suit and completely stained her hands. Blood and fluid dripped off the baby as his mother picked up her cane and removed the top, exposing what looked like a sharp sword. Apatura grabbed the umbilical cord as close to the baby's navel as possible and then, in one clean slice, removed it, separating mother and daughter. Making sure to keep the baby out of Nina's reach, his mother quickly bent forward and swiped the peacock brooch away from Nina, holding it tightly in her hand.

Apatura then took another step back. Then another. Then another.

Chat Noir's heart sank in his chest as he realised what was happening and what his mother was about to do. His eyes widened in horror, as did Nina's as she lay bleeding on the ground, completely exposed to the elements. Nina tried to sit up, screaming and whimpering as she did so, all the while still reaching out for her baby.

"W-what are you…doing?" Nina gasped out, "G-give me…m-my baby. M-my miraculous."

His mother whimpered, trying to contain her sobs as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Nina, but I know exactly what you plan on doing and I can't allow it to happen. It's clear you're beyond help, no matter how much me or the guardians try. I'm so sorry."

"No!" Nina screamed as Apatura turned her back and began walking away. "NO!"

Chat Noir watched as his mother disappeared with the baby into the storm, his eyes wide in horror at his mother's actions. He turned back towards Nina, who had been left to die in the storm, heartbroken and alone. Nina screamed a scream that tore through Chat Noir unlike anything else. It sounded like the most heartbroken scream anyone could possibly produce. She dug her hands into the blood stained snow, cradling it in her hands as her body clearly grew weaker and weaker.

"M-my…baby…" Nina cried out weakly.

Unable to resist, Chat Noir reached a hand out towards Nina, tears blurring his vision as he did so. His mother…his own mother had done this. Why?! As far as he could tell, Nina had done nothing bad to deserve this. His mother had said in one vision that Nina was becoming too obsessed with power, but he hadn't actually seen Nina hurt anyone. Nina had been his mother's best friend. Yet his mother had done nothing but hurt and betray her. Now his mother had left her for dead, as if she was nothing more than garbage. He was shocked. He was appalled. He was disgusted.

However, Chat Noir's hand never made contact with skin. Instead, his hand simply fell through her, the vision vanishing as it did so. Nina disappeared, as did her pained and heartbroken screams that continued to vibrate within Chat Noir, rattling at his heart and making him feel sick. The pain in her cries…it was unbearable to listen to. Yet the sound had left a dark imprint within Chat Noir's memories that would likely haunt him forever. What was worse was that it was his mother that was responsible for such pain. How could she? Chat Noir closed his eyes as tears fell from his eyes and trickled down his cheeks.

More pained cries caught his attention. His black cat ear twitched and he forced himself to open his eyes again, despite wishing to see no more. However his eyes soon widened once he realised that he was standing the living room of the Dupain-Cheng apartment. The rain was pounding against the windows and the room was dark, grey and gloomy.

Chat Noir gasped at the sight of Sabine Cheng collapsed on the floor, sobbing into her hands while Tom Dupain hovered over her, his large hand engulfing her shoulder as he tried his best to comfort her. His own green eyes had welled up with tears, though it looked like he was trying his best to mask his pain. Emilie stood just in front of them, a bundled blanket in her arms. There was a pained and devastated expression on her face, her usually soft green eyes overwhelmed with guilt.

"I'm so sorry, Sabine," Emilie managed to choke out, "But he was a real hero."

"Hero?!" Sabine shrieked, her voice cracking with her sobs, "What good's a hero if he's dead?!"

"Honey, I'm sure you don't mean that," Tom comforted her gently.

"He was my brother, Tom," Sabine continued to sob, "And now I'm never going to see him again. All thanks to _her._ "

"But a part of him still exists," Emilie announced, looking down at the blanket in her arms, "She's right here. A little piece of him exists insider her. Xing died trying to save her. Please don't let his sacrifice be in vain."

Sabine sniffed and looked up at the blanket in Emilie's arms. Emilie bent down slightly and Chat Noir gasped as he realised it was the same baby – Nina's baby. She looked a little bit older, though only by a few weeks or so. She was fast asleep in Emilie's arms, her hands frozen in the air, reaching for something invisible in her slumber. Sabine appeared to melt slightly at the sight of the baby, slowly raising her arms to reach for her.

"You're all the family she has left now. She'll be safe and loved here with you." Emilie smiled gently as she passed the baby over to Sabine.

Sabine gasped as she looked down at the baby and soon she was unable to resist giving the baby a small smile. "Look, Tom!" Sabine gasped, "She looks just like him."

"She certainly is beautiful," Tom gushed, seemingly already wrapped around the baby's finger.

"I'll sort all of the legal documentation out. You won't have to worry about a thing other than making sure she grows up to be a loving and kind person," Emilie explained, "She doesn't have to know about a thing. Here, she can maybe live a normal life, away from miraculous magic. Away from a life that would have been forced upon her."

"Aren't you the most beautiful baby in the world," Sabine cooed, though pained tears continued to fall from her eyes, "Goodness, she hasn't even been named yet, has she?"

Emilie shook her head.

"Got any ideas?" Tom asked his wife.

Sabine thought for a moment before she smiled down at the baby and uttered a name that stopped Chat Noir's heart in its tracks.

"Marinette. You, my precious little niece – daughter – will be called Marinette."

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 **What a whirlwind of a chapter. I hope it was worth the wait. I have a feeling this plot and reveal is either going to be loved or hated so I feel like I need to go hide in a cave or something. Shout out to my boyfriend who helped me edit some of this so I could get it posted today. Congratulations to those of you who guessed correctly. And to those who were wrong, your theories were still fun to read and could have been plausible. As always, feel free to let me know what you think in a review. It helps me out a lot. I hope that you all have a lovely week. See you soon!**


	37. The Horrific Truth

**Welcome back! Thank you so much for the awesome responses! Your reactions were so much fun to read and I also can't believe how many new readers I have acquired now. Welcome! And sorry if you've been kept awake binge reading this story. But it's nice to see some new faces in the review section. Also, thank you to everyone who has added this story to the favourites and who have followed it. Your support always means a lot to me and inspires me to keep writing.**

 **CAUTION: This chapter contains suicide references.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Horrific Truth**

At the mention of that name – his lady's name – Chat Noir's knees caved in beneath him, as if they had been kicked out from under him, and he collapsed to the ground. His green eyes were locked on the scene before him. His ears clogged up as if he was underwater and he could no longer hear them talking, hearing only muffled sounds. The scene was pulled further and further away from him. The forms of his mother, Tom, Sabine and baby Marinette growing smaller and smaller as they were pulled into the distance, leaving nothing but darkness surrounding Chat Noir.

He barely noticed. He didn't care.

It couldn't be.

There was no way this was true.

It…it had to be some kind of trick.

It made sense, but it didn't make sense at the same time. Marinette…was Nina's…daughter. There was some big conspiracy that surrounded her. Innocent and sweet Marinette was the daughter of Nina Couture and had been lied to all her life about her true identity. That certainly explained the weird behaviour of her parents – her aunt and uncle – after Nina returned to Paris. Now it all made sense. Marinette had mentioned to him that at the mention of doing a work placement with Nina Couture, they had forbidden her from doing such a thing. Now all of a sudden they wanted to run away with Marinette.

The big question was, why was Marinette taken away from Nina in the first place? Why had his mother heartlessly left her to bleed to death on that mountain and taken Marinette away? What had happened to Marinette's father? From what he could tell from the way Sabine was crying, something good couldn't have happened to him. All this time…Marinette had been living an even bigger lie than what Chat Noir had been. Here was him getting upset over his mother's secrets and his father being Hawkmoth when all of this was going to destroy Marinette's entire world. And Chat Noir had thought that _he_ had been living one huge lie. Were Sabine and Tom ever going to tell Marinette the truth? Judging by the letter his mother had never managed to finish or send to them, it looked like she wanted Marinette to know the truth one day. But how would someone even begin to explain something like this?

Chat Noir then stiffened slightly in confusion. Marinette had been spending a lot of time with Nina these past few weeks. Why hadn't Nina told Marinette the truth? Wouldn't that be the first thing a long lost parent would want to do? Chat Noir had most of the answers, yet still, nothing made any sense. He gripped at his hair in frustration as his heart lurched out of his chest, reaching for Marinette.

The truth was going to destroy her world.

Wrapping his arms around his abdomen, Chat Noir imaged that he was wrapping his arms around Marinette. That he was shielding her from everything that could hurt her. He would protect her and help her live in ignorant bliss for all eternity. Chat Noir wished that he had never found this out now. Why did he have to go snooping? But he guessed that it was true that the truth always had a way of revealing itself in the end. As much as Chat Noir didn't want to know, he _needed_ to know. The same would go for Marinette as well. She had every right to know that her life wasn't what she thought it was. As much as Chat Noir wanted to protect her from the truth, he knew that he couldn't.

But could Chat Noir really put it upon himself to do such a thing? Could he be the one responsible for shattering Marinette's fake reality? Could he pop her bubble and allow her to fall down into unknown territory? He didn't even possess all the answers that she would need. Just the words that would destroy everything that she thought she knew. Could he live with himself for doing such a thing? Would Marinette even believe him in the first place? After all, he had little to no evidence. It would be a large amount of information to swallow and his lady was notoriously stubborn. He would need to sit her down and word it as delicately as he could and hope that her trust in him would be enough for her to believe him. Because after all, surely she would know that he wouldn't be sick enough to make up something as horrific as this? Maybe then she could confront Sabine and Tom and then maybe they would have all the answers that she needed. Chat Noir would be by her side the whole time, offering her as much love and support as he could. She would need him. And he needed her.

A lump formed in Chat Noir's throat that became impossible to swallow back. Tears formed in his eyes as the seriousness and reality of the situation dawned on him. It was like he had slipped into some alternate dimension where everything was different and nothing made sense. He felt like he didn't belong. Like everything around him was wrong. He was a jigsaw piece in the wrong puzzle. The more he tried to fit everything together, the more frustrated he became. Everything felt surreal. As if it was nothing more than a vivid nightmare. Maybe it was just a nightmare. Chat Noir still wasn't one hundred percent sure if he could trust these visions. He hoped that it _was_ all just lies. But Chat Noir knew that hope was in vain. No one could make something like this up. What would it achieve to do such a thing in the first place?

Chat Noir had to face this new reality. Marinette was Nina's daughter and his own mother had helped kidnap her and gave her to her Sabine and Tom to raise. Her parents were really her aunt and uncle. It seemed that her real father was either missing or dead…just like his own mother. At those thoughts, Chat Noir began to wonder what happened afterwards. Obviously Nina survived and it seemed like his mother had realised this. How had Nina survived? What had really happened to his mother? How had his father got hold of his mother's butterfly miraculous? What had happened to the peacock miraculous? It seemed his mother had taken it, but what did she do with it afterwards? So many questions buzzed around Adrien's brain that his head began to hurt from all the confusion.

"So…this is where you've been hiding."

The familiar, exasperated voice of his mother startled Chat Noir. He abruptly looked up to see that he was no longer surrounded by darkness. He was in what looked like a temple. Maybe it was part of the temple of the guardians. That seemed the most likely explanation. The architecture was pretty similar with its high ceilings and great stone pillars with different, intricate designs carved into them and into the walls, each one seemingly telling a thrilling ancient story. The room was dark, with only the faint, yellow glow of a few torches that were attached to the walls. There was no furniture of any kind or any artifacts, just a large empty room.

Emilie Agreste was stood in the centre, looking older now. In fact, she looked just how she did the last time Adrien saw her. She looked beyond exhausted, but there was an angry fire behind her eyes that refused to be extinguished. There were dark circles under her green eyes and Chat Noir could see the butterfly brooch pinned to her chest, sitting just on top of her hiking gear. Despite looking directly at Chat Noir, her eyes stared right through him, causing Chat Noir to turn and see what she was looking at.

Chat Noir gasped when he caught sight of Nina stood a few feet behind him. Her back was to Emilie and she was stood just in front of some large, wooden double doors, seemingly just staring at them. She barely seemed to be paying attention to Emilie's presence. Her posture was slightly tired and hunched over, like she was carrying the weight of the world on her back. Her usually tidy blonde hair was messy and looked like it hadn't been washed in a while. Her clothes were dirty and Chat Noir gasped at the sight of what looked like blood stains. He wasn't sure whether that was Nina's blood or somebody else's. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to find out.

Nina then sighed shakily and reached a hand up weakly, pressing it against the door before leaning her forehead against it. With her fingers, she delicately stroked the wood, once again barely paying his mother any attention. Chat Noir stared at Nina in confusion as did his mother, though Emilie looked a lot more guarded and wary.

"You've got a lot of nerve hiding out here after everything you've done," Emilie spat after getting no response from Nina.

Nina still kept her back to Emilie and her hand fell still, though she still kept it pressed against the door. Her pale hand clenched into a fist.

"The guardians got what they deserved. You all conspired against me," Nina replied flatly, "You all wished to see me destroyed. I simply returned the favour."

"You left us with no choice!" Emilie yelled before taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down, "You were becoming corrupted by power."

"If you really think I would be so shallow to be obsessed with power, then you never really knew me that well at all, did you?" Nina sighed, relaxing her hand again and pressing the palm of her hand against the wooden door. Her back was still facing them, so Chat Noir couldn't see her facial expression which made her presence all the more intimidating and haunting.

Emilie frowned. "How did you even survive anyway?"

"None of your business." Nina sounded bored.

"It is my business when your existence is placing the whole world in danger. Placing your own daughter in danger," Emilie snapped, taking one step forward.

Nina seemed to stiffen at the mention of Marinette. "H-how is she?"

"As if you care."

"Of course I care. If you weren't so quick to make assumptions about me and label me as the bad guy, then you would know that.," Nina growled, digging her nails into the door.

Emilie said nothing and simply kept on glaring at her.

"Please," Nina pleaded in a whisper, "From one mother to another, I need to know that she's okay."

It took a moment for Emilie to answer, though it seemed she finally caved as she sighed, looking slightly guilty.

"She's doing very well," Emilie admitted.

"Tell me about her," Nina urged.

Emilie sighed, "You know I can't do that. Just know that she's fine and that she's safe. I'm not a complete monster either, Nina, I did everything I could to ensure her welfare. She's fine and happy and that's all I'm going to tell you for obvious reasons."

"I'm glad." Nina's voice cracked slightly, giving away the fact that she was holding back tears. "I know why you're here. You're here to finish what you were too cowardly to do before, aren't you?"

"I –"

"Well you don't have to worry about that," Nina snapped, backing away from the door slightly, "You can keep your precious little conscience intact."

Emilie frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Just go," Nina snapped, "Go home to your husband and your kid. At least you can. Me?" Nina giggled. "I have nothing. You made sure of that. You've got what you wanted so you might as well just leave me alone. I won't be a burden on you anymore."

Chat Noir then watched in confusion as Nina grabbed hold of the door handles and used all of her strength to yank the door open. He gasped and shielded his eyes as a bright white light filled the room, burning his eyes and almost blinding him. His mother gasped too and shielded her eyes, whereas Nina didn't seem to care. She simple stood still in the large doorway, staring into the bright room in front of her. Chat Noir then squinted as his eyes began to slowly adjust. The room in front of Nina appeared completely empty apart from a few walls that looked like they were made out of a sturdier material. In the centre of the room was…Chat Noir couldn't even fathom what he was looking at.

A bright white line appeared to hover in the air, swaying slightly like a thin piece of curtain in the breeze. It was completely white and Chat Noir was unable to see beyond it. Bright light omitted from it and gale force winds filled the room, only it wasn't blowing things away, but pulling things towards it. Nina clung onto the side of the door frame as she continued to stare at it while Emilie gasped and grabbed hold of a pillar next to her. It didn't feel like the force was strong enough to pull someone in from where they were all standing, just knock them over, but Chat Noir knew that if Nina took one step closer she would likely be pulled in.

But what was that thing? Chat Noir had never seen anything like it. It was like some sort of portal. Just wide enough for a human to fit through, but so tall that it reached from the floor to the ceiling. It was almost like a crack. A crack in the middle of the air, right through the fabric of reality. That's when it finally dawned on him. The memories of Ladybug telling Chat Noir a story that her kwami had told her. About a past Ladybug and Chat Noir who had caused an imbalance in the universe, creating a crack in time and space itself. Both of them, along with some of the guardians had been pulled in. Now it was just simply kept in the temple, sealed in a room to ensure that nobody else got pulled in. What exactly was Nina doing going near that thing?

"Nina, stop!" Emilie called, "What are you doing?!"

Nina merely sighed, her shoulders falling in defeat, her grip on the door frame loosening. "What you failed to do twelve years ago."

"No, Nina!" Emilie begged, trying to get closer, frequently nearly losing her balance as she did so.

Chat Noir's heart leapt into his mouth as he watched the scene. Both his mother and Nina were dangerously close to the portal. Emilie continued to shuffle forward, her arms flailing around at either side of her, trying to keep her balance. Nina didn't seem to notice Emilie approaching her. She just continued to stare at the portal. Her messy blonde hair being blown towards it, her grip on the door frame loosening even more.

"I won't let you do this, I just want to help you!" Emilie cried out as she finally approached. She grabbed hold of the pillar next to the door, just within arm's reach of Nina. Nina finally turned around to look at Emilie and Chat Noir gasped at the sight of her. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying for a thousand years. He was so used to seeing her looking so pristine, that seeing her in such a state was incredibly surreal and she almost looked unrecognisable. It looked like she had a lost a lot of weight as her cheeks were staring to look hollow. Her skin looked willowy and as thin as paper. Stress lines adorned the usual perfect features of her face. Her eyes were wild as she stared at Emilie; she looked complete deranged and unhinged. Chat Noir couldn't help but run towards his mother, desperate to protect her, but he knew that he couldn't. This was just a vision. There was nothing he could do. He was helpless to do nothing but watch the scene unfold in horror.

"All I ever wanted to do is help people!" Nina sobbed, "Is that such a crime?"

Emilie shook her head. "No. No, it isn't. But you were taking it too far, Nina. Y-you're not well. I can help you with that, just please…come away from there. Take my hand." Emilie held her hand out, but Nina merely looked at it in disgust before looking towards the portal again.

"They say it's a fate worse than death," Nina mused, "That your consciousness floats in an ocean of nothingness for all eternity. They say that you go mad, even if you just look at it for too long. But I'm already mad. Mad with grief. Mad with loneliness. I have no purpose. I have nothing. It's best that I am just scattered into atoms."

"Don't think like that." Tears began forming in Emilie's eyes.

"You left me to die."

"Yeah…and I regret that now. I was wrong. I handled everything badly. I shouldn't have left you with the guardians. I shouldn't have left you on that mountain side. Not a day goes by where I don't regret what I did. You're still my best friend, Nina, and I love you. All I want to do now is make things right. I want to help you," Emilie pleaded, "Please, just take my hand and get away from there."

"Why?!" Nina shrieked, "What's the point? I'm a lost cause." She turned her head to glare at Emilie. "You have taken _everything_ from me. Gabriel, my miraculous, my daughter…but yet you just couldn't take the final step and take my life. You had to leave me there suffering. I'm doing you a favour."

"You're doing no one a favour!" Emilie yelled, "Look…I can't regret what happened with Gabriel because I do love him and it gave me our son. But what I do regret is all the lies and what it did to our friendship."

Nina sighed, "Forget it. It doesn't matter anymore. _I_ don't matter anymore."

"Yes, you do!" Emilie tried to reason with her. "There's a guardian that survived. I can take you to him and he can help you. _I_ can help you."

Nina snorted, "Yeah…like a guardian would help me now after everything."

"You'd be surprised," Emilie said desperately, "And in time you'll get better and…maybe you'd even be able to see your daughter again. Just let me help you. That's all I want to do, Nina. You're my best friend and you never stopped being my best friend. I care about you."

Emilie extended her hand even more, desperately reaching for Nina and hoping that she would take her hand. Nina looked down at Emilie's hand and then towards the portal again. Finally, Nina sighed before slowly and apprehensively reaching her own hand towards Emilie. Chat Noir bit his lip as he watched the scene, standing incredibly still and holding his breath. After what felt like an eternity, Nina's hand finally reached Emilie's and Emilie clung on as tightly as possible, smiling slightly and looking relieved.

"I promise that we'll get through this together. Remember? Me and you together, just like it always has been." Emilie continued to smile softly at Nina.

"I've done such bad things," Nina whispered.

"I know."

"I killed all those people." Nina's eyes grew distant.

Emilie sighed, "I'll never be able to forgive you for that, but you need help Nina, and I'm still prepared to offer it to you. I can take you somewhere safe."

"I took pleasure in it," Nina admitted, her lip twitching upwards slightly, "The power over their lives was in my hand. After everything you did to me…it felt good to inflict that pain on others. And you know what?"

Emilie frowned in confusion. However, Nina merely smirked back at her before abruptly yanking on Emilie's arm, causing her to lose her balance. Chat Noir gasped as everything then seemed to happen in slow motion. Emilie continued to yank Emilie forward before flinging her towards the portal. Emilie's eyes widened as she realised what was happening. Nina let go of her hand and Emilie slipped free of her grasp, taking away the only thing that kept Emilie from being sucked in. What was so haunting was that Emilie never screamed. But the terror and fear in her green eyes as she was pulled off her feet towards the portal was enough to have Chat Noir screaming for her. He watched, completely and utterly helpless, as his mother was pulled further and further towards it.

"I can't forgive you either," Nina smirked as she watched with pleasure as Emilie was pulled into the portal, her arms outstretched as she grasped at air in the hopes of clinging onto something. Flicking her blonde hair out of her face, Nina then turned her back and began walking away, not seeing Emilie quickly rip her miraculous off her chest and throw it into the corner of the room. The small brooch bounced off the wall before rolling and coming to a stop by one of the pillars. Nina stormed by, not noticing it. This must have been where his father had gotten it from. When his father went looking for his mother, he must have found her miraculous here.

Chat Noir kept screaming and ran towards his mother just as she was pulled into the portal, her outstretched hand the only thing visible that reached through the white veil. Without even thinking and with tears blurring his vision, Chat Noir leapt forward and reached for his mother's hand. His fingers fell through hers as if he was nothing more than a ghost, incapable of saving her, powerlessly watching as his mother disappeared forever, being torn apart until nothing but atoms remained.

"MOOOOOMMMMMM!" Chat Noir screamed as he collapsed back onto the ground, sobs tearing through his chest. Forcing himself up again, Chat Noir leapt towards the portal, wanting and hoping to go in after her, not caring if he suffered a fate worse than death in the process. He wanted to be in there with her. He wanted to die too. The horror and fear in his mother's eyes burned themselves into his memory forever. Nina had done this! She had killed all of the guardians and then killed his mother! She would pay for this! She had ruined so many people's lives! Chat Noir wasn't about to let her continue.

The scene disappeared and everything became pitch black again. Chat Noir was alone again. Alone and angry and confused and terrified. Nina had murdered his mother. She had murdered all of the guardians. He had allowed Marinette to be alone with that woman. No wonder Tom and Sabine were terrified. All along, his mother, Tom and Sabine knew what she was capable of. He needed to protect Marinette from her. He couldn't let Nina get her hands on her, whether her intentions were pure or not.

" _Adrien!_ "

Chat Noir gasped at the sound of his name being called. It sounded distant as it quietly echoed through the dark void. However, Chat Noir ignored it. He collapsed to his knees again and gripped the strands of his blond hair between his fingers. Tears trickled down his cheeks as he struggled to contain his sobs. He had just watched his own mother die. She was murdered right in front of him and there was nothing Chat Noir could have done. He was merely watching a vision of the past. Someone had wanted to him to see this. What if those creatures were trying to help? What if they were a warning?

Anger and misery swirled around Chat Noir, making him dizzy as he struggled to process everything he had just witnessed. His father was Hawkmoth. Marinette was the daughter of his mother's deranged best friend who had murdered not only his mother, but all of the guardians apart from Master Fu. Nina must be after something. Otherwise why would she do all of those horrible things? Both he and Marinette had been living a lie their whole life. Both of their mothers were once great super heroes. In another, perfect universe, where none of this complicated stuff had occurred, he and Marinette would have grown up together. That thought cruelly taunted Chat Noir. His mother would still be alive. Nina wouldn't have gone crazy. It seemed that it was all because of the miraculous. Did these jewels bring humans nothing but grief, misery and insanity? He had lost both of his parents because of these jewels. Marinette had lost both of hers as well.

Chat Noir stared down at his ring before clenching his fist in anger, tears continuing to endlessly fall down his cheeks. This was all too much to bare. His mind reeled. His stomach lurched like he was on an endless roller coaster, caught on an eternal loop-de-loop that turned his insides to mush and made his head painfully spin. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He just wanted to stay in this dark void forever and never have to face any of it. Never face his father and never face his mother's dark past. He just wanted to wallow here forever. He needed time, but he couldn't have time. It…it was all too much.

But he knew he couldn't break or back down now. Marinette needed him. Paris needed him. Once all of this was over, then he could grieve and maybe even try to come to terms with everything that had happened. He needed to fight on. He needed to find Marinette and try to explain things to her. He knew that would likely mean everything he had been up to these past few weeks would come out as well. Marinette would go spare at him. But at least she would know the truth. He needed to put her first. Then they could defeat Hawkmoth and Nina.

Could they really face their own parents though? As hard as it would be, Chat Noir knew that they had to. It was the only way. The only way to keep Paris safe. It would break his heart to fight his father, but it was the right thing to do. But he couldn't do it alone. He would need Ladybug's help. Apart he was weak, but with her by his side, he knew he could do anything. They were a formidable force and an amazing team.

" _Adrien!_ " The voice called again, more desperately this time.

Chat Noir finally looked up and looked around in confusion. Someone was calling to him. But he was so sure that he was alone in the darkness. He suddenly became aware of a throbbing pain at the back of his head and Chat Noir winced as he reached up to rub it. The throbbing pain only grew worse at Chat Noir's touch, like a huge pulsating bruise. Chat Noir brought his fingers away and looked down at them. There didn't seem to be any blood, so that was a relief.

"Adrien! Please wake up, I'm so sorry!"

"Father?" Chat Noir gasped out in a faint whisper. His eyes snapped open and he found that he was no long in the dark void. The face of Hawkmoth stared down at him, his grey eyes full of terror and concern. Arms were wrapped tightly around him and Chat Noir's head continued to throb as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"Oh, thank goodness," Hawkmoth gasped out, his head bowing over his son slightly as his eyes filled with relief, though he still looked incredibly worried.

The memories came racing back into Chat Noir's mind. He had found out his father was Hawkmoth and they had thought. Chat Noir had charged at him only to be knocked back and bang his head against the wall. That must have been what knocked him out. That must have been why he was having those visions. Hawkmoth's arms tightened around him, finally helping him to snap out of his dazed state. Cringing and wincing, feeling completely disgusted at being in this man's arms, Chat Noir shook Hawkmoth off him and stood up shakily. Hawkmoth tried to reach for him again, but Chat Noir stepped back, holding his hands up in warning for his father to stay away from him.

"Keep away from me," Chat Noir growled out.

"But son, with your help, I could get your mother back," Hawkmoth pleaded.

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"If we could get the ladybug miraculous, a wish will be granted to us. We could wish for your mother back. We could save her from her terrible fate and we could be a proper family again," Hawkmoth explained desperately.

"And sacrifice someone else in the process!" Chat Noir snarled. "I want mom back too, there is nothing that I would love more, but I've accepted that that's not going to happen. It can't happen. It goes against the laws of nature. You need to let go, father."

"I can't!" Hawkmoth cried out before glaring at Chat Noir, "How dare you turn your back on your mother like that!"

"I'm not turning my back on her!" Chat Noir yelled back, "I know for a fact that mom would not be okay with something like this. She was a hero and would never abuse the miraculous in such a way. She would be disgusted at you for suggesting sacrificing someone so that she could live!"

Hawkmoth's eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into tight fists. "If you're not with me, then you're against me. I can't believe you would be so selfish and do this to your own mother."

"Think what you like," Chat Noir then gasped as he caught sight of the window behind his father's shoulder. The sun had set. He was late for meeting up with Ladybug. He wasn't sure what he was going to do or say, but he knew he needed to get out of here. He couldn't face Hawkmoth on his own. He didn't trust himself. He needed Ladybug's help. He needed to try and explain everything to her, though he wasn't sure how he was going to do that. However, all he could think about right now was how much Hawkmoth's words stung him. He wasn't abandoning his mother…was he? There was no way she would be happy with his father for carrying out such a plan. Sacrificing one life for another…it wasn't right. There was nothing Chat Noir would love more than to say yes to his father. To help him in getting his mother back so that he could feel her soft, warm arms wrapped around him again in her comforting embrace. But he knew he couldn't. It wasn't right. She was gone. As much as it pained Chat Noir, he knew he needed to accept that. He needed to look forward. Look forward to his future with Ladybug and ensure that she was safe. He needed to look forward and defeated Nina and defeat…his father.

His mind reeling in confusion and pain, Chat Noir turned on his heel and bolted out of the room.

"No, son, wait!" He heard his father plead behind him, but Chat Noir didn't stop. He didn't even look back. He was frightened that if he did look back, he would cave in. His family was broken and there was no way of fixing it. As much as he wanted his mother back, he couldn't have someone's death on his conscience and he knew that his mother would be disgusted that he would ever consider such a thing. He needed to find Ladybug. How he was going to go about this, he wasn't sure.

How do you even begin to explain something like this?

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 **So what's Adrien going to do now? What's going to happen next? I feel like the quality of the second half of this chapter slipped a little bit, but this was the best I could get it. But I guess it's up to you guys to be the judge of that. I hope that you've all been having a lovely weekend. As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review. Feedback helps me out a lot. See you guys soon!**


	38. Tragic Stubbornness

**Welcome back and I hope that you've all been having a lovely week. Thank you so much for all of your reviews! Feedback is always super helpful! It's so awesome to see how many people are enjoying this story. Also, thank you to everyone who has followed this story or added it to their favourites.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Eight: Tragic Stubbornness**

Ladybug watched with a frown on her face as the sun set behind the buildings of Paris. The whole sky was burning a dark red and orange, like a candle that had just burnt out, leaving nothing but a faint glow. A few stars had begun to twinkle in the sky and Ladybug stared up at them, forcing herself to become hypnotised by them as she grew increasingly impatient and worried. The Eiffel Tower began to glitter in the distance, clearly visible from Ladybug and Chat Noir's usual meeting place. She had long given up attempting to sit down and relax while she waited for him. About an hour ago, she had begun pacing the rooftop, practically leaving imprints in the slate tiles beneath her as she walked up and down again and again.

Now, Ladybug simply stood on the edge of the roof, tapping her foot, crossing and uncrossing her arms before she reached down to check her yo-yo again. There were no messages. She had left Chat Noir dozens of them by now. Where on earth was that cat? He knew how important it was to meet up with her right now. Had something happened to him? Ladybug's heart lurched at the thought, almost as if it had rattled free from its place in her chest and leapt up into her throat. She swallowed back the worried lump that was forming in her throat and tried to focus on the cool evening breeze that blew against her face to help keep her calm. If Chat Noir was in trouble, he would have called her. But what if he'd got into trouble while in civilian form and couldn't transform?

 _Calm down,_ Ladybug scolded herself. She knew the last thing she needed to do right now was get worked up even more than she already was. There just wasn't enough room in her brain to deal with everything that was going on right now. Her mind was a worried and confused mess. Master Fu was missing and Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth. The father of the love of her life was her arch enemy who she had been fighting since she had been first given her miraculous. Nina Couture had been the holder of the peacock miraculous which Hawkmoth had stolen. So many things were going on at the same time that Ladybug felt like her head was going to implode on itself from all of the pressure.

Shaking her head before rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers, Ladybug stared out at the city and couldn't help but let her mind wonder to what her parents were doing right now. She knew they would likely be very worried about her by right now. Were they still out looking for her? Or had they returned home hoping that Ladybug would also return? She hated making them worry, but at the same time, they had left her with no choice. Ladybug needed to stay away and get things sorted. She had to get her hands on the peacock miraculous at least. Then Nina could help make her parents forget they wanted to leave Paris just until Ladybug managed to find Master Fu and defeat Hawkmoth. Then she could worry about whatever was bugging her parents and making them want to move to who knows where.

The sky was growing increasingly darker and darker and her worried thoughts turned their attention back to Chat Noir. Ladybug was beginning to panic. This really wasn't like him. Chat Noir knew how serious the situation was, so why would he be late? Maybe something really had happened to him. What if whoever had taken Master Fu had got to Chat Noir too? What if Ladybug was now all on her own? What if Chat Noir was hurt? Trying to keep herself from freaking out, Ladybug went back to pacing across the rooftop, once again checking her yo-yo despite knowing that there wouldn't be any messages there. She knew she would have heard the message come through, but she just wanted to be absolutely sure.

Ladybug stopped pacing again and hung her head in worry, clinging onto her yo-yo tightly. She couldn't believe she had just met the peacock miraculous holder. She couldn't believe she had allowed Master Fu to be kidnapped. She shouldn't have listened to Tikki. For once, Marinette should have followed her instincts and gone to speak with Master Fu. She could have got there in time to warn him about what was going on and prevent him from being kidnapped…or worse. She should have listened to her instincts about Hawkmoth. She had been right all along. Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth and she had allowed herself to be fooled by him akumatizing himself. If she had listened to her gut, this all would have been over a lot sooner. Feelings of guilt began to overwhelm her and Ladybug hunched over even more, wrapping her arms across her abdomen as she fought back tears. She was a terrible Ladybug. A terrible superhero. But she could make amends. She could fix things now. She could make sure that Paris was safe.

Wiping away the tears forming in the corner's of her eyes, Ladybug finally looked back up over the city again, hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of Chat Noir gliding through the city towards her. But there was no sign. No sign of his glowing, green eyes. No sign of the remaining light of the ending day reflecting off his baton as he extended it to propel him through the air from building to building. Her heart rate picked up even more at the thought of him being in danger. That had to be the only explanation for him being late.

A sudden thump behind Ladybug made her jump and yelp out in alarm. She twisted her body around to see Chat Noir had landed behind her, crouched in a cat-like position before he stood up and looked at her with a very…weird expression. However, Ladybug barely had a chance to register the way he was looking at her. Instead, she was just relieved that he had finally showed up and that nothing seemed to have happened to him.

"Oh Chat Noir," Ladybug gasped out as she approached him, "I was so worried." She wanted to wrap her arms around him in relief, but was worried that might be a step too far after everything they had been through. She really didn't want to cause Chat Noir any more pain than she already had.

Chat Noir looked away slightly, seemingly struggling to look her in the eye. "Sorry, I'm fine…I just…"

Ladybug held her hand up. "There's no need to explain, I'm just glad you're here because we need to move out as quickly as possible."

Chat Noir snapped his head back towards her, looking confused and startled. "Huh?"

"It's a long story," Ladybug sighed, shaking her head slightly, "But I just found out that Nina Couture was Le Paon, the peacock miraculous holder, only her miraculous was taken from her."

"Wait…" Chat Noir gasped, "You know?"

Ladybug's eyes widened, "You know too?"

Chat Noir nodded frantically, "Yeah, that's where I've been this whole time. I went snooping and found out everything." He then looked at her nervously. "So…you know that…Nina…?"

Ladybug nodded. "Was betrayed by her partner Apatura. Nina told me everything. She was able to figure out Hawkmoth's true identity. I was right, Chat Noir, Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth! And he's also in possession of Nina's peacock miraculous!"

Chat Noir remained unusually quiet, though Ladybug didn't pay it too much attention, assuming that he was just in shock.

"Hawkmoth must have akumatized himself to throw us off his scent. But now's our chance! We can finally stop him! We know that he's Hawkmoth, but we know that he doesn't know we know he's Hawkmoth. The element of surprise is on our side! We can slip into the Agreste mansion and take him out and seize his miraculous, and then all of this will finally be over," Ladybug explained quickly.

"Yeah, about that –" Chat Noir said firmly before Ladybug unknowingly interrupted him again.

"Then all that will be left for us to do is find Master Fu. But if we made sure we get the peacock miraculous back, Nina said she would join forces with us and help us."

"Wait, what?!" Chat Noir gasped.

Ladybug smiled. "I know, it's amazing isn't it? We'll have an experience miraculous user on our side. Nina said it doesn't matter if we don't defeat Hawkmoth while trying to get her miraculous back, because she'll help us out afterwards. She also thinks she might know what the shadow creatures are that keep invading our dreams."

Chat Noir stared at her in stunned silence, so Ladybug took that as her cue to continue.

"She believes that the shadow creatures are the past butterfly holder – I can't quite remember her name…"

"Emilie," Chat Noir answered for her, a dark frown appearing on his face as he watched Ladybug babble on excitedly about everything she had been told.

"Yeah, I think that was it," Ladybug continued, "And a guardian who is using his powers to able them to mentally communicate with us and invade our dreams. The butterfly miraculous holder was the one who went rogue and turned evil –"

"Evil?!" Chat Noir snapped, growing increasingly agitated and angry, though Ladybug didn't notice.

"Yeah. This guardian joined forces with her and they're trying to attack us in our sleep." Ladybug finally stopped talking and properly turned to look at Chat Noir. However, she was surprised to see him standing so rigid. He had a thunderous and menacing expression on his face as his green eyes grew unusually dark. His hands were clenched into tight fists at his side as he stared at the roof beneath them, seemingly lost for words. This sudden change in behaviour startled Ladybug. Why was he reacting this way? Shouldn't he be pleased that she'd managed to find out? And if he'd managed to go snooping, shouldn't that mean that Chat Noir found out the same stuff too? So why was it seemingly such a surprise to him?

"Chat? Is…is everything alright?" Ladybug asked cautiously and worriedly.

Chat Noir's eyes flickered upwards to meet Ladybug's and she gasped at the anger and pain that was present in his eyes. She had never seen him look like this before. Something was definitely wrong. It looked like something might have happened to Chat Noir in the time they separated and met back up here. He looked like he was fighting to hold back some sort of outburst. It looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and that at any second his legs might give way beneath him and he would be crushed under the weight of everything. His eyes were wild, flickering between intense anger and pain. However, upon seeing Ladybug's worried expression, Chat Noir swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly in his throat as he did so, before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, tilted his head to the side slightly so that his wild blond hair hid most of his expression from Ladybug.

"And this is what Nina told you?" Chat Noir asked, ignoring Ladybug's question.

"Ummm…yes," Ladybug replied, feeling like she was missing something.

"And she didn't say anything else?" Chat Noir pressed.

Ladybug thought for a moment, growing slightly nervous. "Like what?"

Chat Noir remained silent, still refusing to look at her. Ladybug did her best to wait patiently for him to say something, but she was very conscious that they were running out of time. Ladybug needed to get this sorted now. She had her parents to worry about. She couldn't allow them to leave with her, otherwise Paris would be in serious danger. It looked like that whatever was bothering Chat Noir would have to wait until after they managed to get the peacock miraculous back.

Ladybug sighed and began voicing her thoughts. "I don't have time to play games, Chat Noir. We need to get the peacock miraculous back, now."

"Can't we just think about this for a moment?" Chat Noir finally looked at her again, beginning to panic. "There's something important that I need to tell you, I just don't know how to begin explaining everything."

"Can't it wait until afterwards?" Ladybug started getting slightly annoyed. "Chat Noir, this is serious. Nina needs her miraculous back. I think we're really going to need her help, Chat. Especially with my parents."

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Ladybug trailed off nervously, knowing how bad this was likely going to sound to her partner, "The peacock miraculous has the power the manipulate the mind and…"

"Go on," Chat Noir urged, already seeming trying to contain his horror as he figured out where Ladybug seemed to be heading with this.

Ladybug gulped. "Nina offered to…erase their memories of wanting to leave Paris."

Chat Noir's eyes went wide. "What?!" He yelled in horror.

"I know it sounds bad, but –"

"What are you thinking, Ladybug?! Manipulating your own parents' minds like that?! It's…it's unethical! It's disgusting!" Chat Noir shouted at her, looking at her almost as if he didn't recognise her anymore. "This is all Nina's doing, isn't it? She's put you up to this!"

"What?" Ladybug gasped, "No! I mean…yeah, it was her idea, but hear me out!"

Chat Noir pressed his lips into a tight, thin line and folded his arms across his chest, waiting for her to try and explain herself, though it looked like he was going to take a lot of convincing. Why was Chat Noir being like this? Why was he so quick to blame Nina? Ladybug was just as much as responsible for agreeing to go along with it. She could understand why Chat Noir would want to be cautious over erasing her parents' memories, but why was he so angry? Why was he acting so weird?

"It's only a temporary measure," Ladybug explained, "Just until we can defeat Hawkmoth, find Master Fu and deal with the guardian and evil previous miraculous holder that keep invading our dreams. Because I can't deal with all of that if my mother is dragging me off to some unknown location. I don't want to do it and I'm not comfortable with it either. But Nina has offered me a solution and I'm going to take it. What choice do I have? I can't reveal my identity as Ladybug to them; it will put them in danger! Once we have everything under control and Paris is safe, then Nina can just give them their memories back, it's no big deal."

Chat Noir sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Look, Ladybug, there's something I need to tell –"

"We've got to move out, Chat!" Ladybug interrupted him, turning incredibly serious as she stared in the direction of the Agreste mansion. "Gabriel Agreste will likely be home and we need to catch him by surprise. We need to try and figure out where the peacock brooch is being held. Nina says he might have a secret lair and I'm inclined to agree. He lives with his son and many servants so he's going to need some place to sneak off to so he can transform into Hawkmoth without fear of being spotted and interrupted. Our main objective at the moment is to get the peacock miraculous because I think Hawkmoth is going to be tricky to take down. I'm sure he'll have a plan or two up his sleeve for when the situation of his identity being figured out arises."

"Ladybug –"

"So I suggest we move out now and keep a watch on what he's doing and then once we've figured things out, we'll burst in and take him by surprise. We'll have to be careful and make sure Adrien and everyone else doesn't get caught up in it," Ladybug planned, a thoughtful hand placed on her chin, not seeing Chat Noir's increasingly frustrated and terrified facial expression as he kept trying to interrupt her.

"Ladybug, listen to me!" Chat Noir yelled, causing Ladybug to freeze.

"What is it?" She hissed, "We're running out of time! We need to get this done tonight. Nina has asked for my help and she's counting on us."

"And how do you know that you can trust Nina?" Chat demanded, raising his eyebrows and taking a few steps closer to Ladybug, ready to grab her in case she tried to make a run for it as she often did if a situation didn't go her own way. Ladybug narrowed her eyes at him, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way he was acting and by how close he had gotten to her. She could feel the familiar tingling sensation in her stomach, but she forced herself to ignore it and instead keep her head as clear as possible to focus on the serious situation.

"Chat, we don't have time for this," Ladybug pleaded, "She seemed trustworthy enough to me. She showed me old newspapers and everything to prove who she was. She knew about kwamis and the miraculous and the guardians. She came to Paris to ask for our help with getting her miraculous out of Hawkmoth's hands. Whether you trust Nina or not, we still need to get that miraculous so Hawkmoth doesn't get an advantage over us."

"Maybe you're right about that last part, but –"

"Good, so let's go!" Ladybug commanded before taking off faster than Chat Noir could catch her. She swung her yo-yo, hooking it onto one building before swinging herself to the next. The wind roared loudly in her ears as she gliding through the streets and over rooftops as fast as she could, heading towards the Agreste mansion. She could faintly hear Chat Noir calling her name as he chased after her, but Ladybug ignored him. They needed to get this done. She couldn't leave Paris. She had to stay! She had to get the peacock miraculous to Nina so she could prevent her parents from taking her away. She had to save Paris. She couldn't afford to let Chat Noir's weird behaviour and distrust of Nina distract her.

Distracted, Ladybug then gasped as Chat Noir suddenly appeared in front of her. How he managed to get ahead of her, Ladybug wasn't sure, but she braced herself as Chat Noir leaned against his baton as it extended him into the air, putting him directly in the middle of Ladybug's path. She was moving too fast to stop herself in time and she yelped as she collided with his chest, knocking them both backwards. Chat Noir wrapped his arms around her and used himself to shield her from the fall. They both grunted in pain as they collided with the cobbled ground beneath them. Chat Noir lay on his back with Ladybug sprawled across his chest in shock.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled as she managed to push herself off his chest, her cheeks turning slightly pink. She was growing increasingly frustrated with his behaviour. Was he actively trying to sabotage her chances of staying in Paris and saving it from Hawkmoth and what other evil was out there? It was certainly starting to feel that way because he seemed determined to distract her or keep her from reaching the Agreste mansion. She thought that he would try anything to make sure she stayed in Paris. They were a team after all. They were best friends and neither could take on evil without the other. They were yin and yang and would always need each other. Chat Noir had admitted that they definitely needed to at least get the peacock miraculous out of Hawkmoth's hands, so why was he purposefully trying to stop her?

However, before Ladybug could manage to roll away and get back up, Chat Noir grabbed hold of her again and kept her pinned to the ground with him. Ladybug yelped and struggled against him, thrashing about as much as she could trying to shake him off her. His behaviour was starting to scare her slightly. Her stomach tied itself into knots and her heart was beating as fast as if she had been running a marathon. His arm was wrapped tightly around her and his green eyes were pleading with her.

"Ladybug, please stop, I can't let you do this." Chat Noir growled at her as he tried to keep her pinned down.

"Why are you doing this?!" Ladybug screamed at him, trying to yank her wrist around his hand but failing.

"I'm trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"I don't trust Nina. I think she's up to something bad and she's using you as a pawn in her games," Chat Noir tried to explain.

"What makes you think this?" Ladybug tried to calm herself down and listen to what Chat Noir had to say. Maybe if he got what he wanted off his chest, they could finally go and get the peacock miraculous. Maybe he was just nervous about helping a stranger. Ladybug didn't blame him, it was completely understandable that he didn't trust Nina. But she had hoped that Chat Noir would at least trust _her_ and her judgement. Ladybug didn't necessarily have any reason to believe Nina wasn't telling anything but the truth. Her story had made sense. She had seen the evidence from the newspapers and the fact that she knew a lot of secrets about the miraculous and the guardians.

This was Ladybug's one and only chance to allow her to stay in Paris. She and Chat Noir had been desperate to think of a solution and it was almost like destiny was smiling down on her when Nina had provided her with a way. Granted, Ladybug wasn't exactly comfortable with Nina's methods, but she had been assured that the process was reversable and that it would cause them no pain. That way, Ladybug could stay and make sure that Paris was safe. She could defeat Hawkmoth, defeat the evil previous miraculous holder and the guardian and find Master Fu. She couldn't understand why Chat Noir seemed to be so against it and because of what? Because he didn't completely trust Nina? That didn't seem like a good enough excuse in Ladybug's book.

However, despite directly asking him what was wrong again, Chat Noir once again chose to remain silent. His face looked completely pained and conflicted as he stared into her eyes before biting his lip and looking away. Ladybug frowned and sighed in frustration at his silence again. Why was he being like this all of a sudden? She thought that he would happy at the solution they had been offered. They were going to have an experienced miraculous user on their side who would easily be able to help them take down Hawkmoth. Maybe once Chat Noir met Nina properly, he might change his mind about not trusting her. Because unfortunately, it didn't seem like Ladybug's reassurance was enough for him, much to her chagrin.

"Chat, you can't keep beating around bush and then clamp up when I ask you directly for answers," Ladybug sighed out in frustration again, "If it's something important, then you need to tell me. We don't have much time."

"It's just…" Chat Noir choked out, startling Ladybug slightly, "Once I tell you, you're going to hate me."

Okay, Ladybug definitely didn't like the sound of that. Chat Noir was starting to sound like a frightened, lost little boy and Ladybug wasn't sure why. It looked like he was fighting back tears as he continued to bite his lip and refuse to meet her gaze. He kept her tightly pinned down though, hovering above her as he stared down at the cobblestone next to Ladybug's head. The street had now grown completely dark as the sun had now finishing setting. A streetlight glowed faintly a few feet away from them, making Chat Noir glow slightly ominously above her.

"Why? What have you done?" Ladybug gasped out in alarm. Surely, Chat Noir could never do something that would make her hate him? It was very rare that Ladybug could ever bring herself to hate someone. She hated Hawkmoth and Chloé, but that was about it. Not to mention she had very good reasons to do so. Hawkmoth was an evil villain and Chloé had bullied her all her life. Chat Noir was her best friend. Why would she ever hate him? He wasn't a bad person and would never purposefully do anything to hurt her. He had always been so good to her. So kind and patient, despite everything she had done to him these past few weeks. She had played with his feelings, yet still, here he was.

"You have to promise to hear me out before you jump to any conclusions," Chat Noir pleaded, finally looking down into her eyes again.

Ladybug's eyes widened. "Chat –"

"Promise me!" Chat Noir practically demanded, his face growing even more grave and serious.

Gulping, Ladybug nodded, terrified over where Chat Noir was going with this. What could have happened in the past few hours to make Chat Noir behave this way? The whole of Ladybug's chest was now practically vibrating from the erratic and terrified beating of her heart. The intense feelings of panic were making it increasingly difficult for her to breathe. Chat Noir continued to hover over her, preventing her from escaping, forcing her to listen to him. Ladybug started to feel guilty for not taking him as seriously as she should have. Clearly, something was very wrong and Ladybug was so busy worrying about herself and her own problems, that she never stopped to consider that something might have gone wrong with Chat Noir somewhere.

"It's just…I've done something bad…my whole family has done something bad," Chat Noir choked out and his green eyes began to glisten. Ladybug gasped and this time, managed to gently wiggle herself free and sit up so that she could wrap a comforting arm around Chat Noir. His whole body trembled beneath her touch as he appeared to be forcing back sobs.

"Hey, shhh," Ladybug gently soothed him, "I'm sure everything will be fine. You don't have a bad bone in your body Chat Noir, so why would I hate you?"

"You can't trust Nina, my lady," Chat Noir gasped out, "She's done awful things and I'm scared that she's going to hurt you."

"How do you know?" Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows in confusion while rubbing soothing circles on Chat Noir's back as she remained crouched next to him.

"Because I saw it in those visions and –"

"Okay," Ladybug sighed, interrupting him, "Those visions are caused by the guardian and evil former miraculous holder. They're trying to mess with our minds. You can't trust those visions, Chat. I'm sorry if they've upset you and made you scared, they've scared me too. But I know now that what I was seeing wasn't real. We can easily defeat them when Nina has her miraculous back. She wanted to help us, Chat."

"No, you're not listening!" Chat Noir yelled, abruptly standing up and knocking Ladybug's hand off him. Ladybug stood up as well, holding her hands up defensively, hoping to calm Chat Noir down. She stared at him with worried eyes. It seemed those visions had really started to affect him just like they had done to her a few days ago. That guardian and former butterfly miraculous holder certainly were cruel and ruthless.

"Because you're not explaining things to me properly," Ladybug tried to reason with him.

"Nina's your mother!"

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir froze. They stared at each other with wide eyes and Chat Noir clamped a black leather covered hand over his mouth before he slowly loosened it and lowered it, reaching for Ladybug, but she flinched away. Ladybug's mind went completely blank. It was like her brain was a computer and it had just crashed on her. It just couldn't process what Chat Noir was saying to her. Had that strange sentence really just come out of Chat Noir's mouth? Or was she hearing things? It felt like her heart thudded to an abrupt stop in her chest before restarting and beating just as fast as it had been before. Everything around them seemed to go completely silent to a point where Ladybug's ears began ringing.

"What did you just say?" Ladybug finally managed to whisper.

Chat Noir shifted awkwardly, looking like he wanted to wrap his arms around her, but was unsure whether he should. Ladybug was glad he kept his distance though. She didn't know if she could handle him touching her right now after blurting out something like that. She needed space. She needed room to breathe. She was so unsure of what was going on, locked inside her own confused mind to a point where she was feeling incredibly claustrophobic. The words still continued to struggle to register with her. It was like there was a barricade around her head, preventing those words from entering her mind.

"I-I'm sorry," Chat Noir stuttered looking completely crestfallen, "I-I didn't want to just blurt it out like that but…it's true…Nina's your real mother."

Ladybug froze again while Chat Noir watched her worriedly, his hands hovering in front of him slightly, twitching and desperate to wrap his arms around her. However, Ladybug quickly unfroze and took an automatic step back, not sure whether she was looking at the real Chat Noir or not. He wasn't behaving like the normal Chat Noir. This Chat Noir was acting weird. Saying strange things to her that made zero sense. Preventing her from stopping her parents from taking her away. He was currently putting all of Paris in danger by keeping her stood here, distracting by his strange words.

"Are you trying to be funny?" Ladybug hissed out in a harsh whisper.

"Do you see me laughing?" Chat Noir replied, taking a step towards her, but Ladybug quickly backed away.

"Get out of my way, Chat," Ladybug growled out, not impressed with the way he was treating her right now. They had a mission to do. Ladybug needed to do everything in her power to keep Paris safe. "I don't have time for these stupid jokes. I can't believe you're doing all of this. You might not care about whether I stay in Paris or not, but I do! Now you can either follow me and help me stay and save the city, or step aside and let me do what I have to do."

"No, Ladybug, please!" Chat Noir begged, reaching for her.

Ladybug gasped, feeling betrayed and hurt that they would do something like this to her. Before Chat Noir even had time to blink, Ladybug darted off towards the Agreste mansion again, running as fast as her legs could carry her before swinging her yo-yo into the air and allowing it to carry her between the narrow streets. Tears stung her eyes as the cold air hit her face. Chat Noir had officially lost his mind. What on earth had possessed him to say such a thing? Of course it wasn't true. Chat Noir had gone completely delusional. She would have to deal with him as soon as she managed to get hold of the peacock miraculous. Maybe even Nina could help her understand what was going on with him. Maybe the shadow creatures had finally made him go crazy. But she would definitely find a way to help her partner. But she couldn't do that either if she was being moved away to a far away land.

With her newfound determination, Ladybug continued to glide through the city and into the night. Little did she know, a just as determined Chat Noir was running not far behind her, carrying the truth she stubbornly refused to listen to that would shatter her world. Forever.

* * *

 **I ended up having to split this chapter in half so most of the action will be in the next chapter. I feel like this chapter was kinda on the boring and not very good as a result. But trust me** _ **,**_ **you** _ **really**_ **don't want to miss the next chapter. I can't believe how close we're coming to the end of the story now. By my estimates from my plans (though this is always subject to change) there's only around six chapters left. I'm going to be so sad to see it end, but hey, onwards to new adventures and all that. Anyway, feel free to let me know your thoughts on this chapter and the story so far. It always helps me out. I hope you all have a nice weekend. See you soon.**


	39. Toyed With

**I had hoped to get this chapter up by last Friday, but the joys of real life got in the way. Then I tried to get it done yesterday, but I was just so tired and couldn't concentrate and this is an important chapter, so I didn't want it to be a half-assed job. Plus, I've been applying for a lot of jobs and I think I messed up one of my applications so I'm really annoyed at myself. I'm hoping to start updating this story around twice a week seen as we're so close to the end now. I guess we'll see how things go. Anyway, thank you so much for all of the awesome reviews as always. I really can't thank you guys enough for your support and I always really appreciate it.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Nine: Toyed With**

Ladybug gritted her teeth as she continued to run and swing through the streets of Paris. She was approaching the more affluent neighbourhoods now, so she knew that the Agreste mansion was close. Despite her determination, she still couldn't help but worry about her partner. What had gotten into him? Why had he said those weird things? Something had obviously happened him between when they parted and met up again. Had he been brainwashed? Had something affected his mind? Those were the only explanations that Ladybug could think of. Because Chat Noir certainly didn't sound like he was of sound mind right now.

But Ladybug couldn't afford to worry about her partner right now. Maybe Nina would know what was going on and she'd be able to help him. Right now, Ladybug really needed to focus on getting her hands on the peacock miraculous. That was the only thing that stood between her and all of her problems being solved. Her parents, Hawkmoth, Master Fu and now Chat Noir; with Nina's help, everything should be a walk in the park. Maybe Ladybug could even get some semblance of a normal life afterwards. She loved being Ladybug, sure, but it would be nice to no longer worry about the threat of an akuma attack. She could focus more on her schoolwork that she was falling behind in. She could finally properly be with…Adrien.

Ladybug nearly tripped over at the thought of him. This was going to destroy his world. Finding out that his father was Hawkmoth was likely going to break his heart. Ladybug needed to be there for him. She would do everything she could to make sure that he didn't carry this heavy weight alone. It broke her heart to have to do this. To face off against the father of the boy she loved. How would he react? Adrien often seemed like the kind of person to keep his misery to himself, only letting things slip once in a while. But this…this was something entirely new and unprecedented. And Ladybug was going to make sure that she was there for him every step of the way.

However, she didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts for very long as the Agreste mansion soon came into view. It's bright exterior stood out, acting as a small little beacon, drawing her in like a moth to a flame. There were hardly any lights on in the mansion which struck Ladybug as slightly odd. She had assumed that Gabriel – Hawkmoth – would be in as he very rarely left the mansion. He was incredibly reclusive and now Ladybug knew why. She briefly stopped on top of the house opposite and glared at the mansion. Would it be best if she just burst in and caught him by surprise, or should she sneak in? Though Ladybug doubted that sneaking in would work. The house was likely crawling with security cameras and other devices that would catch her.

This really wasn't going to be easy. But Ladybug had to do it. She had no choice. She was desperate. If Hawkmoth really wasn't in, then hopefully this would make sneaking in a lot easier. At that thought, Ladybug thought it might be best to check, so she took out her yo-yo and zoomed in on the windows. There appeared to be no sign of anyone inside. The only light that appeared to be on in the house was Adrien's bedroom window which Ladybug could just about make out glowing from the far side of the house.

Gripping her yo-yo in hand, Ladybug jumped down from the roof and swung herself into the front garden of the Agreste mansion. The house was so quiet and empty looking. This…almost looked too easy, Ladybug thought to herself with a frown. But…surely there was no way Hawkmoth could be expected her. He didn't know what she knew. So why did this feel like it was some sort of trap? Maybe Hawkmoth was expecting her to try and sneak in? Maybe he knew that she would try and be smart about this? However, Ladybug didn't have time to think about it too much. She was running out of time. She needed to get that peacock miraculous and she needed to get it _now._ It was her last hope. Her last hope to stay in Paris. Her last hope to remain as Ladybug.

Deciding that the direct approach might be best, Ladybug jiggled the door handle of the front door and frowned when she realised it was locked. Maybe this wouldn't be so easy after all. Backing up slightly, Ladybug then charged forward, slamming herself into the front doors. It took all of her strength, but she managed to break the locks and open them. The doors swung open loosely and Ladybug looked up in confusion, thinking that Gabriel would have more state of the art security than this. This all felt too weird.

Cautiously, Ladybug stepped inside the main hall of the house. It was dark and empty. The atmosphere of the room caused Ladybug to shiver slightly. The room was as grand as always and the giant portrait of Gabriel and Adrien stared down at her from the top of the main staircase. She hoped that Adrien was alright and that he hadn't heard her break in. The longer he stayed in his room, the better. She didn't want to worry about having to protect him while she hunted down the peacock miraculous.

Nina had said that Hawkmoth would likely have a lair. Ladybug did her best to think like Hawkmoth. If she was Gabriel Agreste, where would she hide such a place? His office perhaps? Though Ladybug had no idea where his office was. She was sure she had been in it before some time ago while battling an akuma, but she just couldn't remember where it was. This house was so huge. It could take her forever to find his lair. But Ladybug knew that it was just something she was going to have to do if she hoped to help Nina. If she hoped to help herself. The fate of Paris depending on it.

Ladybug stepped further inside and looked towards a closed door to her left. She guessed it was as good of a place to start as any. But what if Gabriel was in there? She figured she would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. It was rather odd that she had rather loudly broken in, yet no one seemed to have come running out to see what was going on. Maybe no one really was home? That was the only logical explanation that Ladybug could think of. But still, something wasn't sitting right with her. She wished she'd had more time to come up with a better plan, one that would most likely guarantee her success in this mission. But she couldn't afford to waste time. Her parents were out there right now, planning on taking her away, so she needed to get this sorted immediately. Not to mention the fact that Nina was counting on her and she needed to help Chat Noir with whatever seemed to have happened to him.

She was just about to try and reach and open the door on the left when all of a sudden, the sound of the front doors slamming shut behind her made her jump. Ladybug gasped and immediately twisted around, her stance ready for a fight. Gabriel Agreste stood in the shadows of the hallway, his left hand still resting on the doors he had just closed, standing between Ladybug and the exit. His gaze was cast downwards, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips which unnerved Ladybug. She had always found Gabriel Agreste intimidating, but that uneasy feeling had now increased by a thousand times now that she knew he was really Hawkmoth.

Ladybug watched him with narrowed eyes, waiting for him to make the first move. She didn't particularly want to fight him tonight. She was alone and she didn't fancy her chances. Even if Chat Noir arrived, he wasn't in the right frame of mind right now. Ladybug really hoped that she wouldn't have to abandon her mission. She needed Nina's powers to help her.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to show up," Gabriel chuckled darkly, releasing his hold on the door and stepping out of the shadows with his hands clasped behind his back, looking as sophisticated and as intimidating as ever, "I was beginning to think that for once, I might have been wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Ladybug demanded, crouching down further into a defensive position. However, her eyes soon widened when she caught sight of a small purple kwami peaking over Gabriel's shoulders. Nina was right. Gabriel really was Hawkmoth. Any doubt Ladybug had towards Nina was now firmly squashed. Gabriel was evil. Ladybug could see it in his eyes. There was no remorse. No uncertainty over what he was doing. He was purely cold and calculating. His grey eyes scanned her up and down, looking at her as if she was nothing more than a spec of dirt.

His kwami, however, looked terrified. It was pleading with Ladybug with its dark purple eyes and it made Ladybug wonder just how Gabriel treated his kwami. Was his kwami nothing more than a slave who provided him with power? It made Ladybug feel sick. Kwamis were beautiful and amazing creatures that deserved respect. They did their best to serve humanity and Ladybug could never imagine treating Tikki in such a way. Gabriel abused the miraculous for his own selfish gain. How could Ladybug have let it go on for so long? She should have followed her initial instincts when she first suspected that Gabriel might be Hawkmoth. She could have saved this poor kwami. She could have saved Paris from so much danger and fear. All those people who had been heartlessly akumatized and suffered under Hawkmoth could have been saved if Ladybug had just trusted her gut. But Ladybug was going to make amends now. She was determined not to make the same mistake twice.

Gabriel ignored her question and instead reached inside the pocket of his jacket and pulled out an object that made Ladybug's eyes widen.

"Looking for this?" Gabriel mocked, holding an unfamiliar brooch in his hand. However, upon closer inspection, Ladybug knew that it had to be the peacock miraculous. The brooch was shaped like a peacock with turquoise feathers. It was barely the size of the palm of Ladybug's hand and looked even smaller in Gabriel's grasp. But…how did Gabriel know? How did he know that she would be here for the peacock miraculous? Was it because he knew that Nina was back and that she would likely turn to Ladybug to help her retrieve it?

Ladybug said nothing, instead she simply narrowed her eyes again and stared at the object, trying to plan a way to get it out of his grasp. Why wasn't he transforming? Ladybug thought that would be the first thing Gabriel would do. There was nothing about this situation that was going the way Ladybug expected. It felt like a trap. But why? What for? To steal her miraculous? Surely he would do a better job at that by transforming into Hawkmoth, but instead he remained in his civilian form. Normally, Ladybug was good at figuring a situation out, but this…this she just couldn't fathom at all.

"Ladybug!" A voice called to her from outside.

Chat Noir?

He'd followed her here, Ladybug thought with a frown. Gabriel grinned menacingly at the sound of Chat Noir's voice. Ladybug ignored Chat Noir's voice and instead kept her focus on Gabriel and the peacock miraculous. She couldn't allow Chat Noir to ruin this. To ruin her chances of protecting Paris. This was all going to end tonight. Ladybug was going to get that miraculous, get it to Nina and then the three of them could defeat Hawkmoth once and for all.

Chat Noir would likely break in here soon. She wasn't sure whether or not he would try and stop her, but she didn't want to take that chance with the strange way he had been behaving this evening. Desperate, Ladybug charged towards Gabriel whose eyes widened slightly in surprise before he swung his leg around and violently kicked her in the stomach, sending Ladybug flying backwards until her back collided painfully with the wall. Pain exploded in her back, but Ladybug did her best to ignore it. She had no idea that Gabriel could fight like that in his civilian form. He still held the peacock miraculous in his hand, twirling it between his fingers as his grey eyes darted between the miraculous and Ladybug, daring her and taunting her.

Ladybug growled and gripped her yo-yo tightly in her hand before swinging it towards Gabriel. Still, he didn't transform. Why? What was going on? Ladybug felt like she was missing something. It was almost as if he was waiting for something. But for what? None of this was making any sense.

As her yo-yo flew towards Gabriel, Chat Noir burst through the front doors of the house. Ladybug watched as his green eyes widened when he caught sight of what was going on. In a spit second, it became obvious to him that Ladybug was aiming her yo-yo towards the peacock miraculous, hoping to grab it out of Gabriel's hands. Chat Noir gasped and before Ladybug had time to react, he dove between Ladybug and Gabriel, holding his arm up, so that the string of her yo-yo wrapped around his arm instead. He gripped his baton in his other hand and frowned at Ladybug in frustration. Ladybug glared back. There really was something wrong with Chat Noir if he was standing between her and Hawkmoth.

"Ladybug, stop it and listen to me!" Chat Noir pleaded.

Ladybug only hardened her glare and yanked on the string of her yo-yo, pulling Chat Noir out of the way. He lost his balance and was sent flying through the air before her string untangled itself from his arm and Chat Noir rolled across the floor to the other side of the large room. Ladybug then turned her attention back to Gabriel, never taking her eyes off him in case he tried anything. He still remained in his civilian form, his kwami floating nervously just above his shoulder. His grey eyes gave little away as they stared at Ladybug in amusement. Was this all just a game to him? That thought infuriated Ladybug even more. He was toying with her.

"Stay out of the way, Chat!" Ladybug growled out, "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I don't want to hurt you. I need to get that peacock miraculous to Nina. _We_ need to get the peacock miraculous to Nina. It's our last hope."

"Is that what she told you?" Gabriel chuckled, twirling the brooch in his hand again.

Ladybug ignored him and swung her yo-yo towards him again. This time, her yo-yo managed to reach Gabriel, however, instead of grabbing the miraculous, she accidentally knocked it out of his hand. The small miraculous fell to the floor and bounced three times before slowly skating to a stop in the centre of the room. Gabriel stare at his now empty hand with wide eyes before they quickly zeroed in on the brooch that was now in the centre of the room. The three of them wasted no time. Chat Noir recovered and made a leap for it. Gabriel dove forward also, but luckily, Ladybug was closer. She leapt forward as well, diving on top of the miraculous and quickly gripped it tightly in her hand, rolling out of the way just before Gabriel and Chat Noir could dive on top of her. The two of them collapsed on top of each other while Ladybug quickly stood up and watched as Chat Noir pushed Gabriel off of him. Both of them shared heated glares, Chat Noir's full of nothing but hatred while Gabriel merely looked frustrated.

However, it wasn't long before Gabriel's eyes quickly turned back to Ladybug and she gripped the miraculous even more tightly, holding up her yo-yo in warning. He charged towards her, still not transforming, his hands outstretched, trying to grab hold of the peacock miraculous. Ladybug swung her yo-yo again and wrapped it around Gabriel who growled in annoyance and thrashed around, trying to get out of it's grip. With a wave of her arm, Gabriel was sent flying towards the other side of the room where he collided against the same wall he had thrown Ladybug against.

"Let's see how you like it!" Ladybug called to him.

"Ladybug, no!" Chat Noir pleaded, getting up and running towards her before he wrapped his arms tightly around her. Ladybug gasped and did her best to try and shake her partner off her.

"I can't let you take that miraculous to Nina!" Chat Noir yelled as he tried to reach for it. But Ladybug clutched it tightly to her chest, refusing to let go.

"Chat, what's gotten into you?!" Ladybug shouted back, both of them squabbling over the peacock miraculous like children. But Chat Noir didn't give up. He finally managed to grab hold of it, though Ladybug quickly snatched it back again and tried to hold it out of his reach. But Chat Noir was a lot taller than her and had longer arms. He easily reached for it again and Ladybug moved it back towards her chest, trying her best to use her other arm to push Chat Noir off of her. Why was he doing this?!

"I'm…trying…to help you!" Chat Noir grunted as he kept trying to take it off her.

All the while Gabriel watched the scene with amused eyes as Ladybug and Chat Noir continued to pathetically fight each other in the centre of the room. Ladybug tried to make a run for it, but Chat Noir kept one of his arms wrapped tightly around her, preventing her from escaping. Ladybug stubbornly clung onto the miraculous.

"So, _Chat Noir_ , this is the girl you love?" Gabriel sneered, "I must say I had hoped you would choose a smarter girl than Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir froze and slowly looked towards Gabriel who was smirking at them. His eyes sparkled with psychotic amusement and Ladybug felt her heart drop all the way down to her stomach. What had Gabriel just said? No…no surely it wasn't possible. How could Gabriel know her real identity? Surely he couldn't. It was impossible. She had never given anything away. But…if Nina had managed to find her, did that mean that Gabriel had done the same.

"What are you talking about?" Ladybug frowned at Gabriel, playing dumb.

"Marinette – that is your name, right?" Gabriel chuckled, "The daughter of the baker? In the end, it wasn't that hard to figure out your real identity. Chat Noir here knew all along and led me right to you."

Ladybug turned around to frown at Chat Noir in confusion who was staring at Gabriel with wide panicked eyes. That did very little to soothe the panic that Ladybug was currently feeling. C-Chat Noir? He had led Hawkmoth right to her? B-but how? That could…that could only mean that…Chat Noir also knew her true identity. How? When? Ladybug's head began to spin with so many confused questions. None of it was sinking in. None of it was making any sense. She kept her eyes locked on Chat Noir who was still staring at Hawkmoth in complete shock and terror.

"What are you doing?" Chat Noir hissed at Gabriel.

Ladybug looked towards Gabriel again who merely raised an eyebrow at Chat Noir, like a parent scolding a child.

"Now is that anyway to talk to your father?"

"Father?!" Ladybug shrieked out.

Chat Noir closed his eyes and looked down in defeat, not daring to look at her. He couldn't look her in the eye. That was all the confirmation Ladybug needed to know that Gabriel was telling the truth. They both knew her identity. This had been the trap. Gabriel had wanted to reveal everything to her. For what? To hurt her? To drive a wedge between her and Chat Noir? Because it was certainly working. Chat had led Hawkmoth right to her…Chat Noir was Hawkmoth's son…

Wait…

Did that mean?

Chat Noir was _…ADRIEN?!_

Ladybug's eyes widened as she stared at Chat Noir. The blond hair, the green eyes, the shape of his face, the sound of his voice…it all made so much sense now. All this time…her partner had been Adrien?!

"A-Adrien?" Ladybug gasped out and Chat Noir's eyes finally flickered towards her, his face completely miserable and defeated. Ladybug watched as Chat Noir could barely bring himself to say a word. It…it was true. No! It couldn't be! This whole time…she had been turning down Adrien...for _Adrien._ And…and he knew. When had he found out? This whole time…he had been making passes at her both as Adrien and Chat Noir, knowing who she was…confusing her…making her feel horrible and greedy for feeling like she was in love with two different people…only they were one in the same. He…he had been playing with her…like a cat toying with a mouse.

All Ladybug could manage was a strangled choking sound as she abruptly stumbled away from Chat Noir like he was contaminated, like this whole time he had been an imposter…Ladybug didn't know him anymore. How could he do this to her? How could he lie to her the way he did? Maybe it was a taste of her own medicine, but surely this was above and beyond. Was this why Chat Noir had wanted to stop her from coming here tonight? Why he had kept making up excuses and tried to distract her? Because he wanted to protect his father? How long had he known that his father was Hawkmoth?

Ladybug's head began to spin and she gripped her forehead with both hands as her knees nearly buckled underneath her weight. The room around her began to spin and she was vaguely aware of Gabriel laughing maniacally while Chat Noir gasped and rushed towards her. His touch burned her skin, only it was no longer a pleasant feeling. His very touch made her skin crawl. It was if disgusting cockroaches had crawled from his skin and onto hers. It caused her to automatically flinch away, though Chat Noir tried to hold onto her.

"Get off me!" Ladybug yelled, unable to breathe. Her lungs forced her to gasp for air and it felt like her throat was closing up as if she was being strangled. Her heart cracked like fragile glass before it shattered into a million pieces. Chunks of broken and jagged pieces of her heart stabbed and lodged themselves into her other internal organs causing blood to gush out inside her body. It felt like Ladybug was about to drown. Her ears clogged up and everything sounded as if she was deep underwater. She was vaguely aware of Chat Noir shouting at her, though she couldn't bring herself to listen to what he was saying.

Thoughts and memories rushed through her mind, trying to piece together all of the new information she had just been told. He…he knew. All this time, Chat Noir knew who she was. How had he found out? On purpose? By accident? Why didn't he tell her? So many questions pounded Ladybug's mind as if they were all being fired from a powerful cannon. It only served to make her head spin even more. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe.

She had to get out of there.

Ladybug shoved Chat Noir's arms off her and made a run for it, bursting through the front doors of the Agreste mansion before swinging her yo-yo and carrying herself through the streets of Paris, paying little attention nor caring about where she was going. Tears blurred her vision and stung her eyes as the cold night breeze hit her face like an ice cold slap. It further knocked the air from her lungs and violent sobs began to claw their way out of Ladybug's chest.

"LADYBUG!" Chat Noir screamed from behind her, but Ladybug ignored him and kept on going, hoping that she would lose him soon.

She tried her best to speed up, nearly crashing into buildings and lampposts in the process. It felt like her anger and pain might tear her chest to shreds. It was like a huge knot had formed inside her and it pulsated as Gabriel's words continued to echo around inside her head. It felt like she was about to explode. Her mind and body swelled up with so much anger and so much pain. Tears continued to blur her vision, but Ladybug blinked them away, just in time to see Chat Noir's baton appear in front of her, extended so that it blocked her path and would trip her up if she didn't stop.

Gasping, Ladybug pulled her yo-yo off the lamppost she had wrapped it around, causing her to fall to the ground. She stumbled slightly as she landed before she froze at the sound of Chat Noir landing behind her and running towards her.

"Ladybug, please!" He begged, sounding like he was trying to contain his own sobs.

Ladybug held her hand up and finally managed to bring herself to look at him. Chat Noir ignored her signal and kept running, only stopping when a sob finally escaped Ladybug's throat and she took a few steps back.

"Don't touch me, Chat Noir, don't come anywhere near me!" Ladybug choked out as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She had never felt so betrayed. So lost. So hurt. So confused. All of these emotions mixed together inside her like a dangerous cocktail and right now, Ladybug wasn't sure what she would be capable of. She wanted to lash out. She wanted to hit something. She wanted to scream. She wanted to do all of those things to herself for being so stupid.

Chat Noir remained frozen where he was, his arms still outstretched the in the hope that maybe Ladybug might run into them. His black cat ears drooped slightly and his wide, green eyes stared at her, filled with nothing but pain as they silently begged and pleaded with her. The look in his eyes was enough to make Ladybug feel even more horrible than she already did. Why did he do this to her? He looked like such a lost and scared little boy right now that Ladybug felt like she couldn't help but stay. But then the reminders of what he had done to her assaulted her mind again and Ladybug had to look away from him, unable to stomach the sight of him. He had lied to her. He had betrayed her. Betrayed her in one of the worst ways imaginable.

"Going into the family business then, are we?" Ladybug couldn't help but snap, "I was wondering why you were trying to prevent me from going there."

"What?" Chat Noir gasped, "No, it's not like that! I only just found out about my f-father being Hawkmoth tonight. I'm not joining him! I would never join him! He's evil! Marinette, I would never betray you!"

Hearing him say her real name made her cringe. It only proved to her further that he really did know. He knew and he had never told her. And he would never betray her? Well…he had already done that, just not by joining Hawkmoth.

" _Marinette,_ " Ladybug repeated, sneering out her real name, "And how long have you known about me?!" Ladybug demanded, clenching her hands into tight fists, the peacock miraculous digging into the palm of her hand as she did so.

Chat Noir remained silent for a few seconds before he quietly responded, "Since you gave me that scarf."

"You've know for that long?! And you never told me?!" Ladybug shrieked.

"I'd had my suspicions for a while," Chat Noir admitted awkwardly, wrapping his arms loosely around his chest as if he was trying to hold himself together, "But then when you gave me that scarf, I recognised the material from that day when we bumped into each other while you were shopping and you said that you were planning on making a scarf for a friend."

"But that could have just been a coincidence," Ladybug narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "Surely that wasn't enough evidence for you to conclusively know that I was Ladybug?"

Again, Chat Noir remained silent, refusing to look at her.

"Chat…" Ladybug growled out, "What did you do?"

Chat Noir further buried his chin into his chest so that all Ladybug could see was the top of his head. His whole body trembled and Ladybug knew immediately that he was hiding something from her. Something that he didn't want to admit to. It had to be huge and something that he felt guilty over, otherwise why would he behave like this? His lack of response only made Ladybug panic even more. All this time…she had figured that surely Chat Noir must have found out by accident. There was no way he would betray her trust and do it on purpose. That wasn't like Chat Noir at all. But yet…his behaviour right now was telling her otherwise.

"Chat?" Ladybug choked out, feeling like she already knew the terrible answer.

A small sob escaped Chat Noir's mouth before he spoke. "I followed you."

"What?!"

"I followed you," Chat Noir managed to gasp out between sobs, "And I'm so sorry! I don't know how my fath – Hawkmoth found out though. He must have been spying on me or something because he had somehow managed to figure out that I was Chat Noir. I was suspecting you were really Ladybug for a while and it was driving me crazy, especially after you gave me that scarf. I had to know. I loved you so much that I _needed_ to know if I was right. I just couldn't help myself."

" _You just couldn't help yourself?!_ " Ladybug repeated incredulously.

"And the reason I didn't tell you was because I was terrified that you would be mad at me! I thought that maybe if you got to know both sides of me, then…then maybe what I did wouldn't bother you. I wanted you to fall in love with both Adrien and Chat Noir," Chat Noir explained.

Ladybug's eyes widened her face turned completely pale. "So…all this time…you've just been toying with me…HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! I've been feeling confused and scared for months over my feelings for you and all that time you had been manipulating me. Every day I felt horrible about myself over being in love with two different people! And all that time you knew?! You could have made me feel better by just telling me the truth and not stringing me along and making me feel confused!"

"I…I'm sorry…" Chat Noir gasped, his eyes wide with horror with the reality of what he had done.

Ladybug then gasped. "After I gave you the scarf…that's around the time you started paying attention to me as Adrien…"

Chat Noir stared at her in confusion.

A loud sob escaped Ladybug's mouth before she could contain it. She clamped her hands over her mouth in horror as the realisation dawned on her. There were no pieces of her heart left to shatter so instead, her hollow and empty chest merely pulsated in pain. The cold, harsh wind blew through the hole in her chest. It felt like tiny icicles were stabbing her all over her body.

"Oh god…" Ladybug choked out, "The only reason you started paying attention to me as Marinette, was because you knew I was Ladybug…"

"NO!"

"Oh stop lying, Chat!" Ladybug yelled, "Before you found out I was Ladybug, I was practically invisible to you. But then as soon as you knew I was Ladybug you started showing an interest in me. You don't love Marinette! You only idolise Ladybug – the perfect version of me!"

"That's not true!" Chat Noir tried to protest.

"It wasn't real…none of it was real!" Ladybug gripped her hair, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"No, it was! My love for you was real, Marinette!"

"I was just being manipulated this whole time…by you…by Hawkmoth!" Ladybug screamed, "I can't believe I was so stupid! I can't believe I let this happen! I can't take anymore of it!" She slowly started backing away. Chat's eyes grew even more pained and panicked as Ladybug continued to take slow steps backwards.

"I'm being toyed with," Ladybug whispered to herself.

"You can't leave me! Not now, not after everything!" Chat Noir suddenly called out to her, sounding like a man on the brink of losing everything, shocking Ladybug to a brief standstill.

"You mean the everything that wasn't even real!" Ladybug called back to him, their voices echoing in the dark, quiet street.

"But we could have that again!" Chat begged, sounding like he was trying his best to hold back even more tears, "It was all real, and it could all be real again!"

Ladybug growled, "I am not a toy to be played with. Now if you'll excuse me," she added as she gripped the peacock miraculous tightly in her hand, "I've got a mission to complete."

Chat Noir gasped, reaching out and gripping her arm tightly. Ladybug tried to yank it out of his grip, but Chat Noir wouldn't budge. He frowned at her with tears still staining his cheeks and his chest still panting heavily from crying and yelling.

"Ladybug, I know what you're thinking and Nina is not your ally. Trust me. She -"

"TRUST YOU?!" Ladybug shrieked as her heart pounded angrily in her chest before her voice lowered to barely above a whisper, "Chat… _I hate you._ "

Those words…those horrible words that she gasped out…she wasn't even sure if she meant them, but right now, she just couldn't bring herself to care. Chat Noir had hurt her. Hurt her more than she thought was ever possible. He had taken her heart and shattered it into a million pieces. After everything that had just happened, how could she ever trust him again? How could Chat Noir even begin to have the nerve to expect that from her?

Chat Noir's eyes widened and he jolted backwards as if he had just been shot in the chest. His grip on her arm loosened enough in order for Ladybug to finally yank her arm free. Then, before Chat Noir could compose himself, Ladybug quickly swung her yo-yo and let it carry her away. Carry her away from the boy who had just destroyed her. He'd broken her heart. He'd betrayed her. Ladybug wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him.

She was vaguely aware of Chat Noir yelling her name, but it seemed like this time she had easily lost him. The more distance she put between them, the more her chest clenched painfully. How could you hate someone so much for what they had done, but still love them at the same time? Ladybug shook her head and wiped the heartbroken and betrayed tears from her cheeks. Everything that had happened…everything that Chat had done continued to tear her apart from the inside as she glided off into the night.

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 **Uh oh. Well, that sure was a whirlwind of a chapter. Things sure aren't looking good. All the angst! Just what exactly is Gabriel up to? I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter...well, enjoyed might be the wrong word. It was pretty difficult to write with how tired and stressed I am, but I powered through. It took me four days to get this chapter done. As always, please feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review as it always really helps me out. If all goes well, I'm hoping to have the next chapter out by Friday, so keep your eyes peeled. See you soon!**


	40. Grand Scheme

**Hi! Unfortunately I couldn't get this story up on Friday like I said I hoped to, but nothing was concrete. To those people who pointed this fact out to me, there were good reasons for me not getting the chapter up by Friday, as well as not being able to update my other fics. I'm going through an incredibly difficult time at the moment, battling fragile mental health, financial issues, an evil father as well as the fact my brother has just come out of an abusive relationship and now his ex and her friend are harassing family and friends. These girls are terrifying, unhinged and dangerous, so yeah, getting writing done may sometimes be difficult.  
**

 **Sorry if I come across as salty here. I'm not trying to be mean, it's just people bossing me about, demanding updates is a pet peeve of mine, so can people please maybe not do that? Fanfiction writers aren't robots that serve you. I get that you like my stories, and I appreciate that. I don't mind people expressing excitement for the next chapter and hoping that I do update soon, but please don't get all demanding, ordering me to update (not in a joking way – like, literally ordering that I update as if I'm some sort of servant), and point out the fact that I haven't updated in a while, because I know, and I get stressed over it. There's always a good reason for me not updating. Sorry to discuss my personal life, but I hope it explains things to people as to why updating might go all over the place. I come to fanfiction to escape, but sometimes I can't even do that. To those who expressed concern for my welfare and understood that there would be a good reason, thank you. I'm fine – well as fine as I can be anyway. I'll survive like I always do.**

 **Now that downer is out of the way, thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews! I always appreciate help and feedback!**

* * *

 **Chapter Forty: Grand Scheme**

Losing complete control of his body, Chat Noir collapsed onto the cobbled ground beneath him, digging his claws into the stone and leaving white scratch marks on the surface. He was completely blinded by tears as they continued to eternally gush from his eyes like two great waterfalls. The great, big, gaping hole that had been left in his chest by Ladybug's words caused him to violently gasp for air. A painful lump had formed in his throat and it felt like he had been repeatedly stabbed in the chest before being left to bleed out onto the street in a slow and agonising death.

 _I hate you._

 _I hate you._

 _I hate you._

Those words…those words were a fresh stab to the chest every time they made their lap around his brain, always bouncing back to the forefront, cruelly echoing around his mind like he was in his own personalised hell. His worst nightmare. Ladybug hated him. _Ladybug hated him._ It was too much to comprehend. The pain in her eyes would forever haunt him. The way tears streamed down her delicate, pink cheeks and the crack in her voice which displayed the agony she was in further stabbed him in the heart. The agony that _he_ had caused her. He had betrayed her trust. He…he had broken her heart. He could see it in her blue eyes and all he could do was watch helplessly as her very soul shattered and as her eyes turned cold and dead. Those blue eyes, normally as warm and inviting as a tropical ocean, turned into small blocks of ice, sealing herself away from the world.

The pull in his chest was torturous as his broken heart reached out, longing for Ladybug's touch. For her to reassure him that everything was going to be okay. That she forgave him and that they could start over. But the world didn't work like that. Ladybug didn't work like that. Ladybug was normally a kind a forgiving soul, but not this time. Some actions just couldn't be forgiven. But Chat Noir was desperate to try. Without Ladybug, he was lost. She was his world. His soulmate. His very reason for living. How could he go on without her? How could he go on knowing that it was his fault? That he was the cause of her pain?

She…she really thought that he only cared about the side of her that was Ladybug. That he only loved Marinette because she was Ladybug. He supposed that is how it must have looked to her, but it was far from the truth. If only she had stayed and listened. But like always, she was too damn stubborn. But then again, Chat knew that if the roles were reversed, he would feel incredibly hurt too and would probably run away and want some space. But she didn't give him a chance to explain. If he could just explain things to her properly, then maybe she would understand. Chat still knew that what he had done was wrong, but he just wanted Ladybug to understand. Maybe then they could work something out and start again. But no. Now his precious lady was out there, hurt and devastated, believing that he didn't truly love her and that he was playing some sort of game with her.

Chat Noir felt sick at that thought. As if he could ever use his lady. As if he could ever play with her like she was a child's toy. How could she believe such a thing? _Because of what you did to her,_ a dark voice in his head whispered. At that thought, Chat Noir slowly pushed his hands from off the ground and gripped his wild, blond hair between his fingers and pulled at the strands, hoping to dispel the horrific and self-loathing thoughts that swirled around in his mind, sucking him under into a dark realm which he was worried he might never return.

However, he knew he couldn't sit in the middle of the street all night wallowing in self-pity and nursing his broken heart. He had to find her. He had to explain. He had to make her listen. Chat Noir then recoiled in horror at the thought that he had been sat collapsed in the street for who knows how long when Ladybug was likely in great danger. Nina was out there and Ladybug would likely return to her with the peacock miraculous. Chat Noir had to stop her! He had to find her! She wasn't safe!

Gasping in panic and wiping the tears away to help clear his blurred vision, Chat Noir picked himself up off the ground, gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore the pulsating hole that had been left in his chest. Even if Ladybug hated him right now, he still loved her with every fibre of his being and he was going to do everything that he could to protect her. Even if that meant protecting her from herself. He was so stupid. He should have discussed everything with Ladybug from the start. The dreams and visions he'd been having, the fact that Nina had been best friends with his mother before circumstances destroyed their friendship, the fact that Ladybug had secretly been adopted by her aunt and uncle, that Nina was really Ladybug's biological mother and that…that Nina had…killed his own mother. How could he have been so stupid to think it was a good idea to not tell her straight away? Or when he did tell her, he told her properly instead of just blurting it out randomly with no context, making Ladybug likely believe that he'd gone mad.

This was all his fault.

The hole in Chat Noir's chest ripped open wider at that thought. He had done this to her. If he had just been honest with her from the start…and yet he had been the one to chew her out a few weeks ago over keeping Master Fu a secret from him. Chat Noir really needed to learn to practice what he preached. This was a far bigger mess that when Master Fu's secret was exposed. At least Ladybug had been caught in the middle. She had been sworn to secrecy by Master Fu whereas Chat Noir…he had just been selfish. He had been a coward. He had been so determined to win over Ladybug's heart that he had lost sight of what was truly important. And yet…he had her heart all along. She had been in love with both sides of him, she had admitted it.

He had to find her. He had to explain. He had to keep her safe.

Extending his baton, Chat Noir began to carry himself through the streets of Paris. He knew that that the first place Ladybug would likely go, would be to Nina's. No doubt she was waiting for the return of her miraculous. Ladybug could be handing it over right this second and now that she had her power back, who knows what she might be capable of. Despite seeming like she loved her daughter in her vision, Chat Noir knew that Nina wasn't exactly mentally stable and after what she did to her own best friend, Chat Noir wouldn't put it past her to hurt Ladybug. Nina obviously needed Ladybug for something. Nina had been planning something since before she had even fallen pregnant. She purposefully conceived Ladybug for something. But why? What for? His own mother had known that Nina was up to no good and that Nina wanted to use Ladybug for something, but he could never find or figure out what that reason was.

Whatever the reason, Chat Noir needed to put a stop to it. His determination only grew the closer he got to the city centre. Despite the agonising pain in his chest, Chat Noir pressed onward, briefly looking at the screen of his baton in order to determine where exactly it was that Nina worked. He figured that was where she was most likely to be. As he ran and leapt across streets and buildings, Chat Noir kept a sharp eye out for any signs of Ladybug. He desperately hoped to catch sight of a petite figure leaping and swinging through the air.

No such luck.

His broken heart dropped down to his stomach as Chat Noir realised that Ladybug must already be with Nina by now. Images of Ladybug in pain at the hands of Nina assaulted his mind and Chat Noir nearly stumbled off the roof he was currently running on. He managed to regain his balance though, growling and gritting his teeth at the thought of Nina hurting his lady. But what if…what if he was too late? What if Nina's plan all along had been to kill Ladybug? It felt like every cell in Chat Noir's body cried out at that thought, lurching himself forward, his body pumped itself full of adrenaline to make him run faster and reach his lady to protect her and make sure she stayed safe.

At last, Chat Noir began to approach the small cluster of skyscrapers as he leapt past the Eiffel Tower and over the river Seine. His baton beeped to let him know that he was close to his destination and Chat Noir instantly began scaling the building, trying to find any sign of Ladybug or Nina. The building appeared to be mostly empty, with only a few workers remaining. Most offices and rooms were dark, though Chat Noir's eyes almost instantly zeroed in on a room on the top floor that was dimly lit. He climbed up the building higher and higher, the cold breeze of the night picking up as he did so.

Chat Noir paused just before he reached the window that had a light on. He gripped onto the wall as tightly as he could, frowning to himself, terrified over what he might potentially find inside. Finally, Chat Noir took a deep breath and slowly peaked inside, trying to stay as well hidden as possible. His stomach immediately lurched at the sight of Nina inside, pacing what looked like her office. It looked like she was talking on the phone to someone and Chat Noir strained his cat-like ears to listen.

"What do you mean you've run out of satin? I don't have time for this right now, just improvise and use something else or get onto the provider," Nina spoke impatiently down her phone.

Chat Noir's frown deepened. Everything seemed…normal. His eyes scanned the room, trying to find any sign of Ladybug. But there was no sign of her. Chat Noir watched as Nina continued to pace her office while sighing and getting annoyed over what the person on the other end of the call was saying. She kept glancing at a small clock that was hung up on the far wall next to the door before concentrating on the phone call again. Did that mean that Ladybug hadn't arrived yet? Had Chat Noir got here before her? That didn't make any sense? Ladybug had such a large head start on him. Surely she would have been here long before Chat Noir had arrived.

Squinting his eyes in concentration, Chat Noir began to scan Nina, looking for her miraculous. Seen as it was a brooch, Chat Noir expected she would pin it to her white, frilly shirt or something. Yet there appeared to be no sign of it. If Nina had gotten her miraculous back, Chat Noir didn't doubt that Nina wouldn't hesitate to put it on and activate its powers. It was looking more and more likely that Ladybug hadn't arrived here yet.

That thought sent Chat Noir into an immediate panic. Where was she then? What was she doing? Chat Noir had expected her to come straight here and hand Nina her miraculous back. Had something happened to her? Chat's chest began to heave as he struggled for air. His stomach tightened into a painful knot and he almost lost his grip on the wall as the panicked thoughts began to overwhelm him. What if she was hurt? What if his father had gone after them and then attacked Ladybug when she wasn't expecting it?

Chat Noir forced himself to take a deep breath to try and calm himself down and tried to think more rationally. If he knew Ladybug, maybe she had run away to somewhere secluded and was just trying to catch her bearings. Then she would likely show up here and hand Nina her miraculous. Maybe she would want to clear her head and put on a façade so that Nina wouldn't suspect that something was wrong. Despite wearing her heart on her sleeve, Ladybug wasn't exactly someone who liked to open up to strangers and talk about things that were upsetting her. How would Nina react if Ladybug did confide in her over what Chat Noir had done? No doubt she would twist everything and try to turn his lady against him, Chat Noir thought to himself with a disgusted grimace on his face.

However, he soon forced himself to focus again. If that was going to be the case, then Chat Noir needed to stay and wait for her. He needed to watch and see what happened before he would burst in there and expose all of Nina's lies and deceit. Hopefully Ladybug would listen to him. Chat Noir didn't exactly have evidence, but he would like to think that him and Ladybug had been through enough that she would eventually believe him and take him seriously. He would need to be careful in how he worded it. If he just blurted it out like last time, she would likely think that he was insane or that he was conspiring against her. Ladybug was so jumpy and suspicious lately with everything that was going on; she wasn't thinking rationally or clearly. He would have to wait for the perfect moment and say the perfect words. Ladybug was stubborn, so Chat Noir would need to do everything within his power to get through to her.

The minutes ticked by and Chat Noir, along with Nina, seemed to be growing more and more impatient and agitated. She had finished talking on the phone and was now simply sat at her desk with her back turned to Chat Noir, allowing him to peak more easily into her office. She was busy making notes, occasionally glancing up at the clock before crossing one leg over the other and bouncing it. Chat Noir just wished that he could see what she was writing down. He just wished that she would give something away. Frustratingly, she didn't. She remained silent as she continued to write. There was no noise apart from the sound of the traffic below them. Nina looked so…so normal. It was honestly quite a creepy sight.

Chat Noir dug his claws into the wall the longer he continued to watch her. Having that woman in his line of sight was making him feel sick. He was perched there, having to remain completely still while he knew everything she had done. His mother's murderer was right there in front of him. The only thing that separated them was a thin plane of glass that he could easily burst through before wrapping his hands around her delicate, pale neck. That's all it would take. Then his mother would be avenged. Ladybug would be safe.

He quickly shook his head at those dark thoughts. Chat Noir wasn't like that. He refused to be like Nina. Refused to kill, no matter how much he wanted to right in this moment. That would only make him as bad as she was. As satisfying as it would be to watch the life drain from her body as he squeezed his hands around her neck and dig his claws into her flesh, it wasn't the answer. Despite how much he hated her, Chat Noir knew that he would never be able to live with himself if he did such a thing. He just needed to focus on stopping Nina from achieving whatever it was that she was planning. That would be all the revenge he needed and all his mother would want him to do.

The sight of her was so sickening. How could she sit there acting so normal, knowing what she had done? Knowing that she had taken human lives? That she had deprived Chat Noir of a mother – a mother whom he loved very much? Knowing that she was about to destroy Ladybug's world? The woman was clearly sick and twisted in the head. Chat Noir could sense that something was not quite right from the very first moment that he met her. He should have listened to his instincts and investigated sooner. But it was too late now. What mattered now was that Chat Noir did everything in his power to put things right.

Despite the urge to break down and give up, Chat Noir fought it off. It was all too much, but he knew that now was not the time to wallow in pain. He was a superhero. He had a job to do. He needed to protect Paris. Protect his lady. Make his mother proud. He needed to…to defeat his own fath – Hawkmoth. All of these thoughts made Chat Noir sick to his stomach. His mind couldn't stop spinning. It was like he had a permanent case of vertigo. Tears prickled the corners of his eyes, but Chat Noir blinked them away. The hole in his chest left by Ladybug continued to pulsate as he longed to set eyes on her again and to make everything right.

Where was she?

It had been so long now since Chat Noir had arrived at Nina's office, yet there was still no sign of Ladybug. Maybe she wasn't going to show up? But that made no sense. Ladybug had been so determined to finish her mission, she had said so herself. Ladybug believed that she was doing the right thing in getting back the peacock miraculous for Nina, so it would only make sense that Ladybug would come straight back here and hand it over. Unless…unless something really had happened to her?

No, Chat Noir couldn't afford to think like that. Maybe she was just hiding somewhere, trying to come to terms with everything. Ladybug had always allowed herself to become easily overwhelmed. However, the terrible feeling in Chat Noir's gut refused to go away, no matter how much he tried to reassure himself. Something didn't feel right. He needed to find Ladybug. If she had been captured and he was wasting time perched here waiting for her, then he would never forgive himself. But Chat Noir knew it was best to check that she wasn't hiding anywhere first.

Glancing at Nina one last time, Chat Noir glared at the back of her head, his claws once again twitching and longing to dig into her skin and maybe provide her with a tiny hint of the pain that she had made him feel. Oh how he longed to make her suffer. Growling to himself, Chat Noir extended his baton and began searching the city, panicking the longer he went without knowing where Ladybug was. He searched everywhere he could think of. All of the places him and Ladybug liked to meet and hang out at. There was no sign of her anywhere though. It was like she had disappeared off the face of Paris.

"LADYBUG!" He called out her name desperately, his voice echoing into the night.

No response.

Then again, Chat Noir wasn't surprised. If she was hiding from him, then she was doing a very good job of it. Almost too good of a job. Thoughts of his father capturing her once again invaded his mind, causing his heart to skip a beat and for him to once again stumble over the roof he was currently running across to get to Ladybug's apartment. What if she was hurt right now? Chat Noir's vision began to turn red at the thought of his father hurting her. He would pay dearly if he had. Anyone who hurt her would pay dearly.

Chat Noir finally arrived at the small bakery Ladybug lived above with her parents. Chat Noir gulped as he didn't see a single light on in their apartment. The bakery was sealed closed and Chat Noir quickly launched himself towards the building and gripped onto the windowsills, peering into the apartment. He looked in every single window, but there was no sign of Marinette or her parents. The apartment looked completely empty. There was no sign of anyone having been there in hours. Where were her parents? Were they still out looking for her? Had they gone to the police? It would make things extremely difficult if they had. Panicking, Chat Noir climbed further up and peered in through Marinette's bedroom window. Her room was dark and empty. He had desperately hoped to see her sat at her desk, busy working on a design like normal, maybe even crying into her pillow over what he had done to her. Chat Noir didn't care, just as long as he knew that she was safe and sound. But she wasn't. Her bed was unslept in, her room empty and untouched.

What if something really _had_ happened to her? That was becoming the only likely explanation as to why he couldn't find her. Chat Noir doubled over at the thought. He had to find her. He had to help her. Maybe his father had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike and take her miraculous? What if he had followed them from the mansion and watched them fight, waiting until Ladybug ran off and then he would attack her while she was vulnerable? That thought almost caused Chat Noir to gag. If his father had laid one finger on his lady, there would be hell to pay. How could his father do all of this? How could his father have allowed his heart to be clouded by darkness? How could he feel that he was acting in their best interests? His mother wouldn't have wanted this. She would be disgusted with his father's behaviour; disgusted at the villain he had become.

Yelling in pain into the night, Chat Noir shoved himself off the side of the Dupain-Cheng bakery and bolted as fast as he could back towards the Agreste mansion. He clenched his teeth together in an effort to prevent himself from snarling and going crazy at the thought of his own father harming the love of his life. Is that why he had revealed everything to Ladybug out of the blue? To purposefully make her weak, vulnerable and overly emotional…

Wait…

NO!

Was his father going to…akumatize her?! Was that what all of this had been about? Was Ladybug akumatized right now?! Was that why he had been unable to find her? Was she wreaking havoc somewhere? He needed to reach his father. He had to stop him! Chat Noir wasn't exactly sure what would happen if a miraculous holder became akumatized, but he knew that it couldn't be good. Would it make them extra powerful? All Chat Noir knew was that he needed to find his father and save Ladybug.

The Agreste mansion soon came into view and Chat Noir forced his legs to carry him as fast as they could. He could see that the light in his father's office was on. He was in there. This fact further confirmed Chat Noir's worst fears. Seeing red, Chat Noir continued to charge forward before bracing himself as he launched himself towards the large window of his father's office. He closed his eyes and raised his arms to protect his face from the sharp glass as he smashed through the window. He rolled himself into the centre of the room before quickly pulling himself up and standing defensively, his baton held tightly in his hand as his green, cat-like eyes scanned the room.

Hawkmoth stood at the far end of his office, facing the giant portrait of Emilie Agreste. He barely flinched as Chat Noir entered the room, not even turning around to look at him. He simply stood as still as a statue and Chat Noir glared at the back of his head, waiting for him to say something. Chat Noir wasn't too sure what Hawkmoth would look like while controlling someone. But the fact that his father had transformed was all the proof that Chat Noir needed that he was up to something. Especially seen as all throughout the fight with Ladybug, he had remained in his civilian form. Seeing his father once again transformed into Hawkmoth only caused Chat Noir's anger to bubble up even more, like a volcano ready to erupt. The pressure was building and it wouldn't be long before he exploded. The sight of his father like this disgusted him and nearly sent him over the edge.

"Where's Ladybug?" Chat Noir finally demanded.

"Good evening, Adrien," Hawkmoth greeted him flatly, "I must say I am slightly disappointed that it took you so long to return to me. You know you're not allowed out of the house without my permission."

"That still doesn't answer my question, _father._ " Chat Noir spat the word out as if he had just tasted something disgusting.

"Don't take that tone with me, Adrien," Hawkmoth scolded.

"Where's Ladybug?!" Chat Noir repeated more aggressively this time.

"I don't know." Hawkmoth shrugged. "What happens to that girl is of no concern of mine."

"You planned everything out didn't you," Chat Noir growled out, "You used me to find out Ladybug's identity. You knew everything that was going on. You knew Nina was back and that she would want her miraculous back. You knew that Nina would use Ladybug to achieve this so you used the peacock miraculous as bait. Then you purposefully revealed everything to Ladybug so that she would get upset so that you could akumatize her!"

Hawkmoth, still not turning around, slowly began clapping his hands together in a mocking, patronising manner. Chat Noir frowned at him in confusion while still maintaining his defensive stance in case his father tried anything. Hawkmoth then let out a dark chuckle before clasping his hands behind his back again, tapping his cane against the ground behind him.

"Very good, Adrien," Hawkmoth chuckled again, "Looks like that school _was_ worth sending you to after all. All correct except for one tiny, important detail."

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What's that?"

"I don't need to akumatize Ladybug. Someone else is going to do all the work for me to bring her back here and allow me to take her miraculous. All I need to do is sit back and wait for events to unfold."

"What are you talking about?" Chat Noir demanded worryingly.

Hawkmoth said nothing for a few seconds, completely ignoring Chat Noir's question. "Join me, Adrien." He commanded at last, causing Chat Noir to recoil in disgust.

"After everything you've done and plan to do?!" Chat Noir tried to force back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "No way!"

Hawkmoth sighed. "Everything I have done, I have done for our family. I have done it to get your mother back."

"Mom would turn in her grave if she could see what you've become," Chat Noir spat.

Hawkmoth twitched slightly at Chat Noir's words. "Grave?" He sneered, "She doesn't even have a grave. She isn't even dead, Adrien, don't you understand?" Hawkmoth yelled as he finally turned around to face his son. Chat Noir gasped at the sight of him. Tears were streaming down his face, leaving dark streaks across the grey mask that covered most of his face. His eyes were red and swollen and what little skin was exposed was a sickly shade of white. He looked beyond desperate, like a man who had lost everything. It startled Chat Noir to see his father showing so much emotion. All his life, he had never seen his father cry once, not even when his mother had disappeared. He was always so cold, calm and collected. Chat Noir didn't even know his father could feel any emotion other than bitterness and pettiness.

"She suffered a fate worse than death!" Hawkmoth continued to yell, glaring at his son, slamming his cane on the ground as he spoke. "She was pulled apart, scattered into nothing but atoms while her consciousness still survived. She floats in nothingness, trapped in an endless void for all eternity and all because of _that woman._ But I swore that I was going to get her back, no matter the cost. Because what's one life compared to hers? She saved countless lives day in and day out, at the cost of her own life eventually. So it's only fair and right that someone returns the favour."

"You're talking murder!" Chat Noir screamed at his father in disgust.

"One life against all the others that she saved. She didn't deserve the fate she suffered," Hawkmoth dismissed, turning to gaze longingly at her portrait again.

"And some random stranger does?"

"How's the view up there on your moral high ground, son?" Hawkmoth mocked, "You see the world in black and white whereas I…I see the world for what it really is. A cold, dark, dangerous place that wishes us nothing more than harm. But we are better than all of them, Adrien. We deserve this chance. We have the power to get your mother back! If another life must be exchanged in return, then so be it. They are nobody. They shouldn't have even existed in the first place."

Chat Noir's eyes widened in horror. "You sound like you already have someone in mind?"

Hawkmoth said nothing as he glared down at Chat Noir.

"You do, don't you?" Chat Noir gasped.

Again, Hawkmoth said nothing. He watched and studied his son's face carefully, as if waiting and expecting Chat Noir to be able to easily figure it all out. Chat Noir could feel panic rising in his chest. His father was sick enough to pick someone out as a sacrifice, like choosing a pig for slaughter. This human's life was nothing to his father. Nothing but expendable, collateral damage. They were unimportant, just as long as his father got what he wanted. Chat Noir could just imagine how his mother would be feeling right now if she could see and hear all of this.

Who could his father have in mind? It must be someone that they know. The way his father spoke about them clearly showed that he hated them and that their death would mean nothing to him. That's when it finally clicked inside Chat Noir's mind.

"Nina…"

Hawkmoth smirked. "Close."

Chat Noir's heart leapt into his throat and he felt like he was about to choke. His chest tightened painfully as an intense fear coursed through him, the likes of which he had never felt before. Chat Noir had been right. His father had this whole thing planned out. That's why his father had so easily handed over the peacock miraculous. Everything that had happened…it was all just part of Hawkmoth's grand scheme! It was all an elaborate trap. Chat Noir, Ladybug and even Nina had been nothing but pawns. And now…the ultimately price would be paid. Check mate. Game over.

"NO!" Chat Noir screamed, "I'LL NEVER LET YOU NEAR HER, YOU SICK BASTARD!"

"The perfect revenge," Hawkmoth boasted, "We get your mother back and Nina pays for what she did. Nina took away what we cared about the most, it's only fair she pays the price. A fair exchange, don't you think? We will stop whatever she has planned and she will feel the pain that we felt when your mother was taken away from us, and at the same time, Ladybug gets defeated; we kill two birds with one stone."

Chat Noir gasped desperately for air as his thoughts went wild and out of control. How could his father do this?! How could his father be so evil and cruel?! Chat Noir desperately wished for his mother back, but not at this cost. He knew his mother would never allow it. She had fought so hard to save Ladybug's life when she was alive, now Hawkmoth was about to destroy what his mother had achieved. The love of his life in exchange for his mother. The choice made Chat Noir feel sick to his stomach and ripped his chest open even more than it already had been. But Chat Noir had to do what was right. He could practically sense his mother's soothing voice whispering in his ear right now. But she was gone. It was time for Chat Noir to accept that and move on. What mattered now was the future, not the past. Chat Noir had his answers now. He knew what happened. He had closure. And he knew what his mother would want right now.

"You keep saying 'we'," Chat Noir choked out as he stared at the ground, "As if I'm going to join you."

Hawkmoth was quite for a few moments. "Please, son. You're mother is waiting for us."

Chat Noir clenched his hands into tight fists, the leather of his suit squeaking against the strain. His father's words caused something to snap inside Chat Noir. Before he knew it, all he could see was red as he reached for his baton and began charging towards his father.

"NEVER!" Chat screamed as he lunged towards Hawkmoth, swinging his baton high above his head, ready to strike the villain who stared at Chat Noir with wide hurt eyes before glaring at him with a thunderous expression.

"I see how it is," Hawkmoth growled out before raising his cane to block Chat Noir's blow. Using Chat Noir's shock and rage to his advantage, Hawkmoth then swung his cane, striking Chat Noir's legs and knocking him to the ground. Chat Noir hit the floor with a loud thud, gasping for air as it was knocked out of him by the force of the fall. Hawkmoth then easily bent down and pinned Chat Noir to the ground, knocking his baton to the other side of the room. Chat Noir stared up at his father with wide, terrified eyes as he placed his cane across Chat Noir's neck and applied a light amount of pressure, just enough to stop him from thrashing around, but not enough to begin strangling him.

Hawkmoth glared down at Chat Noir. "I've worked long and hard to come this far in getting your mother back; I'm not about to let you jepodise everything I've worked for." Hawkmoth then smirked. "And like it or not, son, you're going to act as bait."

* * *

 **Uh oh! Things sure aren't looking good. So, what's Ladybug been up to this whole time? You'll find out in the next chapter. I hope I didn't upset anyone with my little rant at the beginning of the chapter. My aim wasn't to offend or throw a hissy fit, I just want people to understand the very difficult position I'm in at the moment. But anyway, enough of that. I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter and as always, please feel free to let me know what you think in a review as it really helps me out. See you guys soon.**


	41. Dark Tidings

**I am so so so sorry for disappearing off the face of fanfiction and for not updating in a while. As I had already explained in my previous author's note, a lot of stuff is going on in my life at the moment and things got much much worse to a point where I just couldn't write. I can't explain what happened to me during this time (sounds ominous, I know), but I'm okay for the most part and trust me that I vanished for VERY good reasons. Thank you so much for being patient with me and for all of your understanding comments. To those who offered me advice, thank you so much, and things are getting sorted out – I just hope this spells the end of things. You guys were so sweet to me, I really don't deserve such lovely readers like you *hugs you all*.**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing the last chapter! You're all so kind to me and leave incredibly useful feedback. Also thank you to everyone who has followed this story or has added it to their favourites. I really appreciate all of your help and support. It's what helps me keep writing.**

 **CAUTION: I mentioned there would be references to abuse later on in this story in the first chapter. This is when those themes start to make an appearance.**

* * *

 **Chapter Forty-One: Dark Tidings  
**

Ladybug hadn't made it very far from Chat Noir before she began to stumble over the roof tops, completely blinded by her betrayed tears. Her heart throbbed and ached in a way she had never experienced before as it contracted painfully in her chest, like someone had reached a hand into her rib cage and was squeezing her organ as tightly as they could. She gasped for air as she struggled to breathe, her breaths coming in and out in harsh pants. Her whole body refused to function properly, as if she was beginning to shut down, unable to process what had just happened.

It wasn't long before Ladybug slowed to a stop and collapsed against a chimney, her shoulders painfully scraping the rough bricks. Closing her eyes, Ladybug finally let the tears cascade down her cheeks in huge water droplets, like the rain of an intense monsoon. Her head spun faster and faster as horrible and painful thoughts pulled her under into the whirlpool of betrayal. Images of Chat Noir, of what he had done, drowned her as the swirling, raging torrent continued to hold her under. The water filled her lungs, burning them, and leaving little room for air as her gasps became shorter and sharper. She shivered and trembled until her knees began to give way beneath her and Ladybug slowly began sinking towards the roof tiles under her. She fell forward until she was leaning down on her hands and knees, her fingers digging into the tiles in a futile attempt to keep herself grounded, to keep her grip on reality.

But did she want to keep her grip on reality? When reality did nothing but scorn and scald her. Ladybug longed to let herself float up. To drift up into the sky beyond the clouds where she would never have to face what had just happened. Ladybug had been living a lie for who knows how long. Ignorance really was bliss. But in a sick a twisted way, Ladybug was glad that she had found out. Found out just how little she mattered to Chat Noir…to…to… _Adrien._

For the very first time, the thought of his name made her physically sick. He had lied to her. He had betrayed her. He was selfish. A schemer. He…he had broken her beyond repair. The boy she thought she loved most in the world had hurt her more than she thought anybody possibly ever could. From her heart, to the tips of her fingers, to the tips of her toes and to the edge of her hairline, Ladybug could feel her body beginning to crack. In complete fragility, her whole body broke into a million tiny pieces as if she was made from the thinnest possible glass. Pieces of herself were picked up by the night breeze and scattered. Scattered for thousands of miles to the point where Ladybug wasn't even sure if she would ever find herself again.

Ladybug was lost.

Lost and alone, not knowing which way was up and which way was down. It was like she was floating in an endless void. Could she trust anyone in her life? Her parents had started behaving strangely and prohibited her from doing something she loved, the fashion designer she had idolised her whole life had turned out to be Paris' most dangerous super villain and…the love of her life, Adrien, had been Chat Noir this whole time. Any other time, Ladybug would have been ecstatic at that revelation. She hadn't selfishly fallen in love with two people. They had been the same person the whole time.

But to find out that Chat Noir had known her true identity for so long…not only that, but he had purposefully gone out of his way to find out her true identity, knowing why Ladybug had insisted on keeping them a secret. Then…he lied to her about it. He had played games with her…chased her as both Adrien and Chat Noir, confusing her and making her feel like the most horrible and selfish person in the world for giving into her feelings for both of them. Ladybug had thought there was something wrong with her; believed that she was greedy. For weeks she had been feeling horrible about herself when all the while, Chat Noir knew and was purposefully preying on her confusion and manipulating her ignorance in order to get what he wanted.

She…she didn't know Chat Noir anymore.

Who was this awful person who had stood in front of her? It wasn't her partner. It wasn't her best friend. It wasn't the boy she had fallen in love with. He was a complete stranger. A devious cat who had selfishly toyed with her. He had stolen her heart…stolen it and then tore it to shreds right in front of her. She could never forgive him for this. Never bring herself to trust him again. She wasn't sure was going to be able to look at him without feeling sick and disgusted. He had put both of them in huge danger. Because of Chat Noir's stupidity, Hawkmoth now knew her true identity. Her family and friends would be at risk. And it was all because of Chat Noir. Chat would be fine, Hawkmoth was his father after all.

Ladybug shuddered at that thought. He had found all of that out and yet he never though to try and tell her. Instead, Ladybug had made herself look like a complete fool in front of Hawkmoth. He knew her weaknesses now, and Ladybug didn't doubt for one moment that he was going to exploit them. Maybe Chat Noir would even join him. She wouldn't put anything past that cat right now. If he could do everything he had to her, then surely joining his father would be no problem. Would Ladybug have to defeat both of them? The thought caused her heart to lurch in her chest.

Why? Why was despite everything he had done…she still felt something for him?

Her heart still ached for him. It reached out to him despite the pain he had put her through. Her heart longed for her to see his face again, just to make sure that he was okay. He did seem genuinely devastated over what he had done. But what if all of that was just an act? Was he upset because of how he had made her feel or was he upset just because he had been caught? Ladybug wasn't sure what to believe and that broke her heart even more. She wanted to scream at herself that Chat Noir would never do something like this to purposefully hurt her. That he was just stupid and that he didn't mean it. A part of her longed to believe that he did love Marinette and not just Ladybug. She wanted to believe his words. Oh how much she wanted to believe his words.

But, just like Ladybug had previously stated, a good superhero always listened to her head. Her head was telling her not to go back. Telling her to not put herself through that again. She knew she would never be able to trust Chat Noir again. He had betrayed her as her partner, as her friend and as…Ladybug wasn't even sure they had got that far. They had kissed, but…they had never properly discussed what that meant for them. Had they been together?

In any case, it was too late now.

Her head was telling her to never go back there. The pain was too much. It was unbearable. She couldn't handle it. She couldn't handle seeing his face again. She was terrified that she would cave in. She was terrified that she would lash out at him. She was terrified that she would let him hurt her all over again. He had done this to her. And she couldn't let him do it again.

Ladybug moaned to herself like a wounded animal, curling further in on herself as she remained crouched on the rooftop. She balled her hands into tight fists, clenching her teeth together as she struggled to not just throw her head back and scream. Every now and then, a sob would continue to escape from her throat, her eyes began to run dry as there were no tears left for her to cry. Instead, only sounds of pain escaped from her. Ladybug wanted nothing more than to just lay in that spot, curled up for all eternity and never face the world again.

She had let Paris down. She had let Chat Noir do this. This was all her own fault. She should have been more careful with her identity. She shouldn't have let her feelings cloud her mind and her judgement. What was she going to do now? As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't stay in this spot forever. No doubt Chat Noir would be trying to find her if he hadn't gone running back to his father. Maybe Chat Noir was joining the family business right this very second. Meanwhile, Ladybug was on her own with no one to trust. Master Fu was missing, her partner had betrayed her and she couldn't try and give anyone a miraculous to help her because…

No!

She had entrusted the miraculous to Chat Noir! That meant that…Hawkmoth had them!

Ladybug curled into the tightest ball possible and began rocking backwards and forwards slightly as the overwhelming feelings of guilt and hopelessness consumed her. How could she have been so stupid? Should she go back and try to retrieved them? As much as she wanted to, Ladybug knew that she would never pull that off. And even if she did get them back, she wouldn't be able to access any of the miraculous in order to get help. She didn't know the code. So for now, Ladybug knew she would just have to rely on the hope that Hawkmoth didn't know the code either… _she hoped._ Though knowing her luck at the moment, Hawkmoth would find some way of getting in.

It was game over.

There was nothing Ladybug could do.

Hawkmoth had clearly planned this out down to the last detail. Everything had gone completely in his favour. Ladybug was alone. Chat Noir's lies and deceit had been purposefully exposed to her by him so that she would hate him. Even if Chat Noir didn't side with Hawkmoth, working with him would still be extremely difficult. But she knew she would have to do it for the sake of Paris. After that, she wasn't sure. When Hawkmoth was defeated and Master Fu was found, maybe she should just give up her earrings and give up being Ladybug. She obviously wasn't cut out to be a hero, just like she had believed at the very beginning. She did nothing but make things worse and screw things up. Not to mention, she just wasn't sure if she could face working with Chat Noir anymore than she had to. Maybe then a better Ladybug could take her place. Chat Noir could fixate on her instead and everyone could move on.

But _could_ Ladybug move on?

Fresh tears began welling up in Ladybug's eyes as her uncertain future dawned on her. _Could_ they even defeat Hawkmoth? _Could_ she find Master Fu and would he be okay? Ladybug wasn't sure about anything anymore. All she knew was that she was a failure and a fool. No matter what, Ladybug would be alone. There was no one that she could turn to about all of this. The only person she could turn to about superhero related issues is…was…Chat Noir. Master Fu, as kind and caring as he was, just wasn't someone Ladybug could talk to about her personal feelings. And Ladybug wasn't even sure if he was alright. Master Fu could be hurt…or _worse_ right now and it was all Ladybug's fault. She should have seen him sooner.

Now she was completely and utterly alone.

Ladybug clenched her fists even tighter and that's when she gasped and she could feel something digging into her hand as she did so. Her eyes snapped open and she looked down at her hand before opening it up to see the small, peacock brooch still nestled into the palm of her hand. She stared down at the miraculous in shock for a moment, almost completely having forgotten all about it as all of the drama unfolded. The darkness of the night made it difficult to see the detail of the brooch, but Ladybug could tell it was very pretty and glamourous looking. Almost as pretty and glamourous as Nina.

Biting her lip, Ladybug looked up towards the business and financial area of Paris, the lights of the tall buildings glowing in the distance like millions of tiny fireflies. That's when it dawned on her. Ladybug wasn't alone. She had Nina. She might practically be a total stranger, but she was still a superhero. Ladybug wouldn't have to face all of this alone. With an experienced miraculous user on her side, all of this could be swiftly dealt with, then Ladybug could move on and try to forget about this whole ordeal. Maybe she wouldn't have Nina help her stay in Paris after all. They could end this all tonight and then maybe Ladybug could move away with her parents and start a new life. Maybe after all of this, a fresh start would be just the thing she needed. She could get away from Paris. Get away from Adrien. Get away from all of the bad memories and leave them all behind.

Wiping the tears away from her cheeks with the back of her hand, Ladybug sniffed before standing up and glaring determinedly towards where Nina would be. Once again, Nina was her last hope. Her last hope of all of this ending. Ladybug's last hope to move on.

Staring down at the peacock miraculous one final time, Ladybug then tightened her grip around it and pulled out her yo-yo before carrying herself towards Nina's main office. The lights of the city blurred past her and Ladybug's eyes still stung from all the tears she had shed. Her entire body felt completely exhausted, but she pressed on. This was going to end tonight. Ladybug would make sure of that. Nina needed her miraculous back and Ladybug wasn't going to keep her waiting a second longer.

At last, Ladybug reached the large building before she gasped and lost her grip on her yo-yo, falling onto the window ledge of one of the nearby buildings. There, clinging onto ledge of the window that looked into Nina's office, was Chat Noir. Her eyes widened at the sight of him and her breath caught in her throat. Her broken heart lurched in her chest, yearning for him. The sight of him was like an addictive drug; no matter how bad he was for her, she couldn't help but crave him. She longed to call out to him, to let him embrace her in his strong arms, however, the thought also made her feel incredibly sick. The thought of him touching her made her skin crawl.

Shaking her head, Ladybug glared at the back of his head, wondering what on earth he was doing here and he was just sat there watching Nina through her office window. It certainly was odd. But still, Ladybug couldn't help but sigh in relief at the fact that he hadn't gone instantly running back to Hawkmoth. Or maybe he had sent him here? Maybe Chat Noir was here to wait for her to arrive, knowing that she would return the peacock miraculous to Nina?

Ladybug narrowed her eyes even more, trying to figure out her next move. Obviously she couldn't just waltz straight into Nina's office like she had originally planned. Chat Noir was clearly here for a reason. Ladybug couldn't risk him ruining things even more and preventing her from giving Nina her miraculous back. Everything was resting on Nina's help now and Ladybug couldn't let Chat Noir jeopardise that like he had jeopardised her safety by exposing her identity.

But what was Ladybug to do? She had no way of contacting Nina. If it was the daytime, Ladybug could have perhaps sneaked around to the entrance and asked for Nina at the desk and she could have got them both out of there long before Chat Noir could register what was going on. But it was night and it was highly likely that the entrance was locked and no one was working downstairs.

Ladybug was stuck.

Sighing in frustration, she leaned her shoulder against the concrete of the building and glared at Chat Noir with all the hate she could muster up. Why did he have to do this to her? Why did he have to be so cruel and deceitful? Had he always been like this and Ladybug had just been blind to it? Had he been putting on an act all this time? Or had he been brainwashed somewhere down the line or had he just changed for the worst as a person? Looking at him right that moment, it was like Chat Noir was a complete stranger. The way he glared murderously at Nina through the glass startled Ladybug. He _had_ changed. He wasn't the boy she had fallen in love with.

Minutes ticked by and Chat Noir remained as still as a statue, glaring at Nina through the window and all the while, Ladybug looked on, not knowing what to do. Her brain was exhausted and still recovering from the recent revelations to be of any help to her in that moment. But then something unexpected happened which caused Ladybug to feel even more bewildered.

Gasping, Ladybug quickly ducked to hide behind the stone window frame, peering out and watching as Chat Noir abruptly turned around and looked quickly around the area. He then extended his baton and carried himself into the night, tugging painfully at her heart as he did so. Ladybug longed to follow him to get to the bottom of what was going on. But no. Ladybug couldn't risk it. She didn't want to risk allowing her heart to forgive him and possibly fall for even more lies which would only hurt her again down the line. There was going to be no more hurt. Ladybug was going to save Paris and then she was going to leave. Her window of opportunity to do this had just been opened. Chat Noir had gone. Probably to try and look for her, but Ladybug couldn't afford to worry about that right now. She had a job to finish.

Twirling the peacock miraculous in her hand, Ladybug frowned as she leapt down from the window ledge before swinging her yo-yo and hooking it around the building that contained Nina's office. The light was still on in her window and Ladybug landed gracefully on the ledge, fighting back tears as Chat Noir continued to invade her mind. Nina's back was towards her as she sat at her desk making notes. Biting her lip, Ladybug timidly raised her hand and knocked quietly on the window. It seemed to startle Nina slightly and she instantly whipped her head around to look at her window before her deep blue eyes lit up at the sight of Ladybug.

Nina immediately dashed over to the window and opened it up enough for Ladybug to slide through with a huge smile on her face. Ladybug climbed down onto the floor, unable to look Nina in the eye as she continued to try and fight back tears of betrayal and pain. They stung at the corners of her eyes and she clenched her hands into tight fists again, feeling the peacock miraculous dig into the palm of her hand. Would Nina hate her for what had just happened? Would she think Ladybug was a stupid and terrible hero because she was easily led into Hawkmoth's trap and allowed him and Chat Noir to figure out her identity?

"Did you get it?" Nina asked eagerly, stepping closer towards Ladybug.

Ladybug slowly nodded and unclenched her fist to show the peacock miraculous in her hand. Nina's eyes locked onto it and she looked like she was in a daze. Her eyes sparkled more than Ladybug had ever seen them sparkle before. It was like new life had been breathed into Nina and she smiled widely, showing each and every one of her pearly white teeth that shone brightly in the light of the room. Her hands twitched, clearly longing to reach up and grab her miraculous, however, before she could do so, her blue eyes flickered to Ladybug's face before she froze.

"What is it?" Nina asked nervously.

Ladybug gulped before she began to slowly explain. "There were a few…hiccups along the way…"

"Hiccups?" Nina's eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's…it's Chat Noir…" Ladybug struggled to contain her sobs.

"Chat Noir?"

"He's known my true identity for weeks…he…he ended up leading Hawkmoth right to me…" Ladybug sobbed as tears streamed down her face. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying in vain to stop herself from falling apart in front of Nina. What sort of strong hero let themselves fall apart like this, especially in the middle of such a crisis? But Ladybug couldn't help but unleash it all.

"He had been playing me this whole time…he…he's Gabriel's son…and he's in love with Ladybug and not Marinette. He only started caring about Marinette as soon as he found out that I was Ladybug. He never looked twice at me before that. He didn't tell me he knew that his father was Hawkmoth and he let me walk right into a trap. Hawkmoth purposefully told me about Chat Noir and his secrets to put a wedge between us…and it's worked!"

Nina stared at her with wide eyes, her hands twitching again slightly.

"Chat Noir did everything he could to stop me from getting the peacock miraculous back…he…he even lied to me and tried to tell me that you were my mother or something. And I gave the other miraculous that Master Fu was guarding to him which means Hawkmoth now likely has them." Ladybug shook her head and wiped away her tears as best she could, waiting for Nina to unleash her anger at her.

Nina shifted awkwardly, frowning as her eyes remained locked on her miraculous.

"I know what Chat said was completely ridiculous." Ladybug sighed, staring down at the peacock miraculous that was still in her hand. "I'm sorry the mission went so wrong."

"Don't be silly," Nina reassured in a shaky voice, "you got my miraculous back, that's what's most important. As for Chat Noir, if he wants to believe Hawkmoth's lies then so be it. We can still easily defeat Hawkmoth without him. All you have to do…is just give me my miraculous back."

There was a slight desperate edge to Nina's voice and Ladybug sighed, realising that she was withholding something that was incredibly precious to Nina. Ladybug was incredibly thankful that Nina didn't seem to be mad at her and was still confident that they could still defeat Hawkmoth. That was enough to comfort Ladybug slightly as she offered Nina a small smile before holding out the peacock miraculous to Nina.

"Of course, I'm sorry," Ladybug apologised as Nina panted slightly, her chest heaving as she did so.

Nina slowly reached out her hand and gently plucked the small brooch from Ladybug's hand, staring down at it in her hands in awe. Her eyes were wide and seemed to be welling up with tears. She gently caressed the brooch with her thumbs before curling her fingers around it and clutching it to her chest.

"I've waited so long…" Nina gasped out, "after _she_ took it from me, I knew this moment would come. _Le Paon is back._ " Nina's emotional expression turned into a smirk as she slowly attached the brooch to the front of her blouse. Ladybug frowned at Nina's odd behaviour and the smirk on her face sent a small shiver down Ladybug's spine.

"Don't worry my sweetheart," Nina looked back up at Ladybug with an almost deranged smile, "we'll get Hawkmoth and Chat Noir and make them both pay. We don't need them. Together, we can be the heroes of Paris, we can stop all the evil in the world and only goodness with prevail."

"Errrr, right," Ladybug replied, feeling a little bit confused and uncomfortable.

A burst of blue light appeared in front of Nina and Ladybug shielded her eyes slightly while Nina simply stared at the ball of light with a sinister sparkle in her eyes and a large grin on her face. Soon enough, the blue light disappeared and Ladybug lowered her hands to see a small, blue kwami hovering in front of them with long peacock feathers for a tail. It slowly uncurled itself before yawning widely and opening it's black and orange eyes. Its eyes immediately landed on Nina and the small kwami squealed in what sounded like fear, cowering and quivering as Nina reached down to stroke its head with the tip of her index finger.

"Oh Duusu, how I've missed you," Nina purred.

The little kwami said nothing and Ladybug watched in horror as it continued to violently tremble under Nina's touch.

"Did you miss _me_?" Nina asked darkly.

"Yes, mistress," Duusu replied shakily in a high pitched voice.

"Is…is she okay?" Ladybug asked, slightly alarmed at the small kwami's behaviour.

"She's fine," Nina answered for her, "she's just happy to see me again after all these years, aren't you?"

"Yes, mistress," Duusu replied again before slowly and shakily turning around to see who Nina was talking to. Duusu gasped at the sight of Ladybug who offered her a small, nervous wave. Duusu's eyes widened and if a kwami could turn pale, Ladybug was sure that Duusu would have in that moment. Ladybug then frowned at the kwami in confusion, lowering her hand slightly as she wondered why the kwami was having such a strange reaction to her.

" _It can't be…"_ Duusu gasped as she continued to stare at Ladybug.

"Duusu, meet Ladybug," Nina's grin widened even more as she gestured towards Ladybug.

"She…she has your eyes, Nina…" Duusu continued to pant in fear. "How many years has it been?"

Ladybug took an automatic step back, narrowing her eyes at the both of them in worry.

"Sixteen." Nina beamed proudly at Ladybug, her eyes sparkling dangerously.

 _She has your eyes, Nina?_ What was Duusu talking about? Why did this situation feel so…weird to Ladybug? Duusu's reaction to Nina didn't exactly give Ladybug a good feeling. And the way they were both behaving right now…it made Ladybug feel like she was missing out on something. Something big. She felt incredibly vulnerable all of a sudden. Like she had just walked straight into the lions den without realising. She felt like a lone gazelle in the middle of a huge clearing and she was surrounded by predators from all angles. The strange feeling she had gotten when she first met Nina came rushing back to her.

Something was wrong. Something was very very very wrong.

Ladybug took another step back.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Nina asked so caringly and innocently?

"She looks so much like you and Xing, mistress."

"What is she talking about?" Ladybug asked nervously.

"Do not mention his name," Nina snapped at her kwami and the small creature cried out and curled in on herself, as if it was trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that," Ladybug growled at Nina, storming forward to stand between her and the terrified looking kwami, glaring up at Nina. There was something incredibly disturbing about the way Nina and her kwami interacted and it made Ladybug incredibly uncomfortable. The way Duusu was acting…it reminded Ladybug of how Gabriel's kwami had acted around him earlier that night. It wasn't normal. It was disturbing and worrying.

"I'll talk to her any way I see fit," Nina responded in an ominously calm voice, however there was an unhinged edge to her voice that almost had Ladybug stepping away in fear, but she stood her ground. Ladybug was starting to feel like she had made a huge mistake reuniting Nina with her miraculous. Terror washed over Ladybug at that realisation. Had she just made one big mistake she would live to regret?

"Maybe I was wrong about her being like you," Duusu noted from behind Ladybug, "She's pure and good. Looks like Emilie's plan worked after all. When I woke up and saw Ladybug, I was worried that it hadn't. Yeah. That's right. Nooroo managed to fill me in on everything that was going on and I helped keep you in the dark and helped lead Emilie right to your location!"

Ladybug was about to turn around and ask Duusu what she had meant before Ladybug was violently shoved out of the way and fell to the floor with a painful thud. Dazed and confused Ladybug stared down at the floor in shock, wondering what had just happened as her arm throbbed slightly from the force of whoever had shoved her.

"LADYBUG, YOU NEED TO RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" Duusu screamed at Ladybug and Ladybug looked up in horror just in time to see Nina raised her hand and strike the small kwami, knocking her to the other side of the room. Duusu cried out in pain as she collided with the wall. The small, sickening sound of the thud her body made as she did so echoed around the room and through Ladybug's mind. The kwami then dropped down to the ground, unmoving.

Ladybug then turned to look at Nina in horror and disgust, watching as Nina calmly straightened her hair before looking down at Ladybug innocently, as if she had just done nothing wrong. Ladybug blinked, wondering if she was seeing things before her vision turned red. She forced herself up and charged towards Nina.

"You vile, horrible – ahhhh!"

Before Ladybug could even land one hit on her, Nina had easily twisted Ladybug's arm around so that it was pinned painfully behind her back. Ladybug thrashed around in her grip but the more she fought, the worse the pain became. Nina tutted as Ladybug tried to fight back.

"I really expected better from you, but no matter. We'll soon have you trained up," Nina sighed.

"H-how could you do that to your kwami?" Ladybug gasped out.

"She'll live." Nina spoke as if Duusu was nothing more than dirt and that only angered Ladybug even more. "She betrayed me and she needs to learn her place. As do you."

Ladybug gasped as Nina pushed Ladybug away from her. Ladybug stumbled slightly before righting herself and turning back around to face Nina, her fists raised and ready for a fight.

"What are you talking about?" Ladybug demanded.

Nina sighed and rolled her eyes before chuckling to herself. "Well, I see you didn't inherit my intelligence. Your father was just as dense and easy to manipulate. But oh well, I suppose I can work on that."

Ladybug's eyes widened and her stomach twisted into painful knots, threatening to make her vomit up the little contents of her stomach. Everything fit into place, but at the same time, it didn't. Nothing was making any sense and Ladybug began to wonder if she was trapped in another nightmare conjured up by those shadow creatures. But everything felt so real. All she could do was stare at Nina in horror, waiting for her worst nightmares to be confirmed. But no…it couldn't be true. _How_ could it be true? Why did everyone keep saying this was the case? Her parents' strange behaviour...it had all started when Ladybug had told them that she wanted to work for _Nina. They had been fine about the work placement until she had mentioned Nina's name._ No! Ladybug refused to entertain the crazy idea! There was just no way it could be true!

"Yes, my dear Marinette," Nina purred as she smirked down at Ladybug, "your beloved cat was right. I'm your mother."

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 **Dun dun dunnn. Oh Ladybug...what have you gotten yourself into? Eeek, I really hope that this chapter has turned out okay. I'm worried I've lost my writing flow with everything that was going on. I'm still not feeling one hundred percent, so I hope the quality of the chapter hasn't suffered too much. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, I dunno. You tell me. On that note, pretty please leave a review, as it really helps me out a great deal. We're so close to the end of this story now. Massive shout out to my boyfriend for helping me edit this. I just hope we got all the errors. See you guys again soon!**


	42. Family Reunion

**Hi everyone, I'm really sorry that once again it took my a while to update this story. Things in my life are still a bit of a mess, I needed to update my other stories, and for some reason I just couldn't get this chapter right. I kept re-writing and re-writing it dozens of times, but it just never felt right to me. It still doesn't feel right, but I feel like this is the best I'm gonna get it unfortunately, but I dunno, as always, you guys be the judge. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews! I read and appreciate every single one of them and it's your support that helps me keep going. You guys are so lovely and kind to me.**

 **CAUTION: This chapter contains scenes of physical and emotional abuse.**

* * *

 **Chapter Forty-Two: Family Reunion**

All Ladybug could do was remain frozen. Her brain failed to fully register everything that was going on, becoming stuck on the theory that this was all one big joke at her expense, and that any second, everyone would all jump out at her, laughing hysterically at the whole prank. But nothing happened. The room was so silent, that Ladybug could hear her own rapidly beating heart as it continued to sink lower and lower in her chest, all the way down to her stomach which had tied itself into nauseating knots. The words Nina had uttered repeated over and over again in Ladybug's mind, like a broken record.

 _I'm your mother. I'm your mother. I'm your mother._

It was like Ladybug's mind was a hollow cave and the words just kept bounding around off the inside of her skull, never settling into her brain so that Ladybug could hope to process and understand what had just been said to her. Each second that ticked by felt like an eternity. It was like Ladybug had slipped into a parallel universe where nothing made sense; everything was crazy. There was no way any of this could be true. It was all too absurd. Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng were her parents. They were all she could ever remember and there had never been one single hint that anything was wrong with her life. She felt at home with them, she loved them, and they loved her. Marinette even looked like her mother, people always said so. So the fact that she wasn't biologically related to them was impossible. This all had to be some sort of trick. Nina was crazy and this was all just a joke.

Unable to contain it, a nervous laugh escaped Ladybug's lips as she took a small step back. However, Nina's expression never changed. Her smirk remained on her face which further fuelled Ladybug's theory that this was all a joke. A joke to distract her. It was a pretty sick joke though. That's what made it even more unbelievable. Her parents would never be able to keep something like this from her. They had always been terrible at keeping secrets, unable to even organise her surprise birthday parties. So how would they be able to keep something this huge from her? The simple answer is that they wouldn't. And why? What reason would two bakers from Paris have to kidnap a child? Tom and Sabine were the most non-threatening people Ladybug had ever known. They couldn't be guilty of something like that, it just wasn't possible.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Ladybug hissed, gripping her yo-yo, ready to swing it at Nina and escape. Unfortunately it looked like she might have to wait to get the peacock miraculous back. Right now, she needed to find Chat Noir. She…she had clearly been wrong about Nina. The woman was completely deluded and crazy. Duusu wasn't safe in her clutches. The world wasn't safe with someone that unhinged in charge of a miraculous.

Nina's eyes flickered down to Ladybug's yo-yo and her smirk faltered, morphing into a frown. She sighed and folded her arms across her chest before closing her eyes, looking completely exhausted all of a sudden. Ladybug kept a defensive position though, unwilling to trust a single movement Nina made or any word that came out of her mouth.

"I was hoping to sit you down and tell you properly, to at least explain things, but that meddling cat got in the way, just like his mother," Nina growled out, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What are you talking about?" Ladybug demanded.

Nina growled in annoyance. "Haven't you worked it out yet? For someone supposedly so bright, you're ignoring all of the evidence that's staring at you in the face!"

Ladybug flinched away slightly and upon seeing this, Nina took a deep breath to calm herself down. She rubbed her face with her hands before running her fingers through her thick, blonde hair, locking her deep blue eyes onto Ladybug, causing her to freeze in place again. Ladybug thought back over everything that had happened over the past few weeks. It was strange how Chat Noir had just seemed to blurt those words out, completely out of the blue. She always trusted Chat Noir but…he had been lying to her for weeks, so how could she trust him on this? For all she knew, Nina had planted that lie into his head.

There was also her parents' strange behaviour lately. Ever since Ladybug had mentioned the work placement to them, that's when they had started acting weird. But wait…they had seemed fine with the idea of the work placement at first…it wasn't until…until… _she had mentioned Nina's name._

But no! That didn't prove anything at all. It could just be a coincidence. Or maybe they had heard about what Nina was like? Ladybug had noticed while she was here that most of her staff seemed to be terrified of her. She did always give off an intimidating vibe, even before her insanity had made itself clear to Ladybug. The woman was clearly some sort of psychopath, able to easily lull people in, using them to get what she wanted. Just like she had used Ladybug to get her hands on the peacock miraculous. Maybe her parents had been trying to protect her from a woman who was clearly dangerous, even to people who had no knowledge of miraculous magic.

But why the sudden urge to move away?

No! _You're thinking too much about this, Ladybug, s_ he scolded herself. There was no way any of this was possible. Her parents wouldn't be able to keep such a dark secret for so many years. Ladybug would have evidence of it by this point. She looked like her mother, so there was no way she could be a complete stranger. Her parents were just normal bakers with nothing dark and sinister hiding away in their closet. This was all just some lie, conjured up by Nina to further manipulate her and keep her distracted from the true threat.

How dare Nina use her like this! How dare she stalk her and then use her in order to get her miraculous back. A miraculous that had obviously been taken off her because she could no longer handle its power responsibly. How dare she abuse her kwami like that! How dare she lie to Ladybug like this! Nina was going to pay for all of this. Ladybug would make sure she never got her hands on another miraculous again.

Glaring murderously at Nina, Ladybug swung her yo-yo, and Nina gasped as the wire wrapped tightly around her. Ladybug smirked before pulling on the wire, making sure that it was wrapped around her incredibly tightly, ensuring that there was no possible way that she could get away. Now if she could just pull Nina closer so that she could snatch her miraculous off her and make a quick getaway.

Just as Ladybug was about to begin pulling a trapped Nina towards her, the blonde woman simply sighed, as if this was nothing more than a minor inconvenience, before she twisted her body violently, yanking Ladybug forward. Not expecting this, Ladybug gasped and lost her balance, losing her grip on her yo-yo in the process, causing it to roll to the other side of the room. Ladybug fell to the floor, bruising her knees in the process before crying out as Nina quickly and easily untangled herself, before picking up Ladybug's weapon and examining it in her hands. She stared at the yo-yo in fascination before narrowing her eyes slightly at Ladybug.

"Now is that anyway to treat your mother," Nina scolded, causing a shiver to run down Marinette's spine.

"This is all some kind of sick lie. You're just trying to distract me in order to get to my miraculous!" Ladybug yelled as she finally pushed herself up off the ground, feeling incredibly vulnerable now that she no longer had her weapon. How was it that Nina was able to so easily overpower her? Even in her civilian form, she always found some way of outsmarting Ladybug. Maybe the young hero needed to use her head more instead of letting her emotions get the better of her, making her lash out. She needed to fight fire with fire. Ladybug stared at the peacock brooch on Nina's white shirt, biting her lip as she forced her brain to work despite the confused and pained state she was in.

"Your miraculous?" Nina burst out laughing. "I'm not interesting in taking your miraculous, sweety. It's yours by right and I would never want to take that away from you."

Ladybug froze, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. She didn't want her miraculous? Now that she thought about it, if Nina had wanted her miraculous, knowing who Ladybug really was, Nina could have taken it any time she wanted. While they were alone in her office together, it wouldn't have taken much to just easily reach up and snatch her earrings off her. But she never did. So…what did she want? The fact that Nina wasn't interested in the ladybug miraculous only made Ladybug increasingly more nervous. This was a type of foe she had never had to deal with before. With Hawkmoth and his akumatized victims, their motivations and their desires had always been relatively clear. But Nina was different. She was clever. She was unhinged. Anything could happen and that thought caused Ladybug to gulp as her body grew cold and her heart thudded fearfully.

"T-then what do you want?" Ladybug inwardly cringed at how shaky her voice had sounded while asking that question. Her eyes darted to her yo-yo which was still being tightly gripped by Nina before her eyes moved towards the brooch. She had never felt more powerless than she did in that moment. Nina was more skilled in combat, she was more intelligent…Ladybug didn't stand a chance. But then she thought…Nina clearly wanted her alive, otherwise she would have easily killed her by now. Did that mean that Nina needed her for something? If so, Ladybug would have to use that to her advantage. She would have to keep her talking, then once her guard was down, she would get back her yo-yo. She would get back the peacock miraculous.

For the first time, Nina smiled a soft smile. Her eyes grew emotional as she took a few steps closer towards Ladybug, her blue eyes scanning every inch of her face in a way that made Ladybug feel completely exposed and vulnerable. It felt like Nina could see directly insider her – knew her better than anyone. It was a strange look…it almost looked…motherly.

No!

The woman was just deluded. These were just lies to distract her. The lies of a deranged woman who seemed to have some sort of obsession with her. An evil woman who lusted after power. It made Ladybug wonder how much of the story Nina had told her about her time as Le Paon was true. Had she made the whole thing up? Or had she just twisted certain details to make herself appear as the good guy. Did that mean that Apatura wasn't the villain Nina had made her out to be?

Cringing back slightly before forcing herself to remain still, Ladybug held her breath as Nina slowly reached forward before gently taking one of Ladybug's pigtails in her hands, twirling the dark strands of hair between her fingers as she examined every inch of her face. Ladybug stared back, trying her best to show no hint of fear, keeping her expression as neutral as possible, feigning a growing sense of curiosity and obedience. She couldn't help but feel like she was under inspection as Nina continued to stare at her. Every inch of Ladybug's body was telling her to run. Run away from this woman and never look back. The very same vibe she had gotten on that day they met. Ladybug desperately wished now that she had listened to her instincts. That she had not gotten so involved with Nina and allowed her to grow so close to her. That she had been more careful when she transformed. If those pictures had never been taken, then Nina would never have been one hundred percent sure as to who Ladybug really was.

But it was too late to go back and change things now.

Ladybug had made a mess out of everything. But she was determined to fix it now. She would stop both Nina and Hawkmoth. But she knew she would need Chat Noir's help – that's if he hadn't already sided with his father. As much as she still loathed him right now for what he had done to her, Ladybug knew that they both had to work together if they hoped to save Paris and those they loved. She refused to be like the other Ladybug and Chat Noir Tikki had told her about. She would just have to put her grievances aside and work with him.

The feeling of Nina's warm hand stroking her cheek brought Ladybug out of her deep thoughts. Nina was still smiling down at her and Ladybug really had to resist the urge to swat her hand away. Everything about this situation was making her extremely uncomfortable. She really didn't like the way Nina was looking at her. It was as if Ladybug wasn't even a human being, but rather a giant bar of gold Nina had stumbled across. The more Nina stared at her, the worse it got. The whole of Nina's body seemed to be shaking with some sort of anticipation.

"I can't believe how beautiful you are, despite how much you look like him," Nina gushed as she began stroking Ladybug's hair again. "I had always envisioned how beautiful you would look. For years I dreamed of the day we would finally meet again. It was the only thing that would help me sleep at night, knowing that in my dreams, I would see you. You would often smile and run from me and I would chase you over the hills and through the forests, though I could never quite reach you."

Ladybug froze in shock at how emotional Nina's voice sounded. She really did sound like a mother talking about her own long-lost child. She couldn't believe how completely deluded this woman was. She truly believed that Ladybug was her daughter. But the young hero refused to believe it. It was all some sort of trick created by a crazy woman. Ladybug just had to keep this distraction up long enough and then she could get out of here.

"When I first saw you that day when I came to your school, it took all of my efforts not to just run over and embrace you," Nina continued, her eyes shimmering slightly. "Despite looking like your father, I could tell that you had a lot of me in you. I couldn't believe it when I realised you were being bullied by Chloé Bourgeois, the daughter of the girl who had bullied me when I was a little girl."

Ladybug gasped.

"Ah yes, Audrey Bourgeois," Nina sneered, "the girl who loved to make my life a living hell. Of course, the orphan girl with hand-me-down clothes would always look like an easy target. She was always a stuck-up bitch and I'm not surprised that her daughter is exactly the same. She's a perfect clone of her mother."

"Is that why you were so quick to defend me from her?" Ladybug thought back to that day. How, unlike the teachers, Nina had actually stuck up for Ladybug that day, refusing to let Chloé get away with her actions just because of who her father was. Nina had been completely unintimidated. She had squirted red paint all over her and allowed Ladybug to be excused, forcing Chloé to remain in class, completely covered in paint. Ladybug had been so grateful to Nina. It had been nice to see someone immediately see Chloé for what she really was, despite how much Chloé had originally tried to suck up to her just because Nina was a rich and famous fashion designer.

Nina smiled. "Well, yeah, but also because I didn't want to see my own daughter be put in that situation. I couldn't bear the fact that the cycle seemed to be repeating itself."

Ladybug shuddered at the use of the word _daughter,_ though she tried to hide it as much as possible. But then it hit her that Nina kept mentioning a father. Who was this supposed phantom father? Maybe asking the question will help determine just how insane Nina was, or maybe if she couldn't think of anyone, it might help her snap out of this deranged state.

"Who's my father?" Ladybug asked slowly, watching Nina's reaction carefully.

Nina froze, her expression morphing into one of anger before turning soft again within a split second. It was quite a strange and unnerving sight to behold. It was almost like there were two versions of Nina trapped inside her, each one fighting for dominance and showing themselves for a split second before the side Nina wanted to present to world won the battle. It made Ladybug feel even more uncomfortable in her presence, knowing that at any moment, Nina could snap. There was clearly a violent and terrifying streak within her. Ladybug had witnessed it when Nina had attacked Duusu.

Nina sighed, though it once again sounded more like a deep breath to try and control her temper. "I suppose it is only natural that you would be curious. Though let me tell you that man does not matter. Only me and you matter."

Ladybug frowned slightly at her words, though waited patiently for Nina to give her a name.

"His name was Xing Cheng," Nina revealed at last.

"C-Cheng?" Ladybug stuttered, her stomach dropping at the mention of that name.

"He is – _was_ – Sabine Cheng's brother. So yes Marinette, you have been living with your aunt and uncle all these years," Nina explained with a bitter edge to her tone.

It took all of Ladybug's will power not to begin hyperventilating. That was the last giant piece of the puzzle that was missing and now that it had been slotted into place; everything scarily made sense. Ladybug tried to fight off those thoughts, the thoughts that were now running rampant in her mind, connecting all of the dots. It did indeed explain why her mother had reacted so strangely upon the mention of Nina's name. If her own brother had been dating Nina, then she would have known what Nina was like. It would explain why Ladybug looked like Sabine. If she apparently looked like Xing, then of course she was going to look very similar to her aunt.

NO!

Sabine was her mother, not her aunt! This would mean that her whole life had been a lie! That her parents had been lying to her since she was a baby! That her parents weren't her parents. That her parents had taken her away from her real, biological parents. It just wasn't possible. They weren't capable of such a thing. _Why_ would they do such a thing. The more things made sense, paradoxically, the less they did make sense.

"Wait…" Ladybug froze, " _was_?"

Nina's face twitched. "It doesn't matter. He's gone now and he's not important."

"What do you mean gone? Why is he gone? What happened to him? Why don't you seem to care? I mean…surely you felt something for him if you had a child with him?"

Nina chuckled. "You have such an innocent view of the world, Marinette. The poor soul had a crush on me for years. The only man I have ever loved was Gabriel Agreste."

"What?" Ladybug gasped out.

"But Emilie, the woman who was supposed to be my best friend, stole him from me. They got married and I had to stand there as head bridesmaid, watching as my best friend and the love of my life tied the knot, knowing that I had lost, that I was unloved, that I was unwanted, just like I had been my whole life." Nina stormed away from Ladybug and began pacing the room erratically, constantly running her hands through her blonde hair to the point where some strands were untidily sticking out. Her blue eyes were wild and tears were beginning to stream down her face.

Ladybug could feel herself shaking in fear, but she did her best to keep her cool. The instant she let on that she was scared, that she could be planning something, it would all be over. Ladybug just needed to get Nina relaxed and comfortable enough so that she could take back her yo-yo and the peacock miraculous. So Ladybug continued to watch as Nina paced the room, trying to think of some way to try and calm Nina down.

"She began to make claims that I was ill, believing that the power of my miraculous was driving me mad, when reality it was _her,_ " Nina growled out. "She made it clear that she wanted me out of the way as much as possible. She couldn't have me getting in the way of her perfect little family. She kept me in Tibet with the guardians, claimed that she was worried about me. Then when I heard she was pregnant, it was like fate was mocking me. She had taken everything from me, she had ruined my life, yet she came back up smelling of roses like she always did. She was having a baby with the love of my life."

" _Adrien…_ " Ladybug breathed, her heart halted as his name left her lips.

"Yes," Nina sighed as she finally stopped pacing, though her chest continued to heave as her breathing remained erratic.

Ladybug almost felt sick as another puzzle piece slipped into place. Is that where Adrien had gotten his information from? Had he stumbled across it at home? No…how could he? His father always kept a close watch on him and why would Emilie leave information like that in somewhere that would be easy to find? Nina could still just be making all of this up, and the fact that some of the information made sense could just be a coincidence. Nina was clever with words after all.

Then Nina began to smile. "It was while I was staying at the temple that I overheard something that I shouldn't have. I always had a talent for sneaking around if I do say so myself. I wanted to know what the guardians were planning to do with me – if they were going to take my miraculous. There was a guardian at the temple who was completely insane. Her head had almost been sucked into the void that's kept there. She was pulled out just in time, but not before her mind was almost completely fried. People had always thought she was insane, until some of the random nonsense she spouted started coming true."

"Like…prophecies?" Ladybug frowned, fairly certain that she didn't believe what Nina was saying.

Nina chuckled. "Sort of, yeah. She yelled something about me. About how I would be the mother of the universe, the mother of the next ladybug miraculous wielder."

Ladybug's eyes widened.

"I so badly wanted this to come true. I had always wanted to have children of my own, but to know I would be bringing the next ladybug miraculous holder into the world made me feel special. All I've ever wanted to do is do good things and help people, and this was one of the best things I could achieve in life."

"I…I took advantage of Xing's crush on me. Not my finest hour, I know. But I had completely underestimated him. It wasn't long after I found out I was pregnant that he began to suspect that things weren't quite right. He had heard the rumours and Master Fu had always been going on about how I seemed to be up to something, the interfering, old moron."

"You said you didn't know Master Fu," Ladybug accused.

Nina sighed. "I had to lie in that moment as I didn't want to just reveal everything to you suddenly, that was never my intention. I came here and kept it a secret because I wanted you to slowly get to know me. I wanted you to know that you could trust me. Then when we had gotten closer, I was going to tell you everything about who I was and who you really were. But then Gabriel – Hawkmoth – grew suspicious of me. Tom and Sabine were also going to take you away so I need to strike. I only told you half a story because I was worried you wouldn't believe me if I told you the whole truth, and I didn't have time to try and explain things properly to you. I needed my miraculous back before it was too late. It didn't help that Xing and Emilie seemed to be invading your dreams, trying to get messages to you. I couldn't risk you interpreting them and believing their word over mine. They would only try and turn you against me. Try and make you finish what they had started."

Ladybug couldn't believe how elaborate this whole lie was, she would be impressed if she wasn't so disturbed. Nina truly possessed a powerful imagination. Ladybug's eyes flickered back to her yo-yo again. It was still slightly hidden inside the palm of Nina's left hand. Things were still too volatile for Ladybug to get it back though. She still needed to keep Nina talking, to make her feel like she could trust her.

"I should have suspected that they were all up to something. I should have known that I wouldn't be allowed to take this one chance of happiness, this one chance to make a positive difference in the world," Nina grumbled as she balled her hands into fists so tightly, that Ladybug was worried she might just crush her yo-yo. "They made their plans and I was none the wiser. Then while I was out walking in the mountain to get away from the temple for a bit, Emilie appeared before me. I thought she was after a fight, so I tried to transform, but because I was pregnant, something went wrong." Nina shuddered and her face turned a sickly shade of white.

"I went into labour," Nina continued to explain in a haunted tone, "and these will forever be the most vivid memories of my life. There was nothing that could be done. I was in too much pain and bleeding too heavily for Emilie to carry me anywhere - or at least that's what she told me. Hours went by and night fell…a bad snowstorm rolled in…"

Ladybug swallowed, all of this sounding hauntingly familiar. Memories of the nightmares she would have about the woman on the mountain came flooding back to her. The crying, the snow, the wind…the blood. It had been forever engrained into Ladybug's mind that she instantly recognised the scene that Nina was painting before her. But it couldn't be…it was impossible…it was just a coincidence!

"Finally, you were born." A small smile tugged on the corners of Nina's pink lips. "I had never experienced love like that before. You were everything I had dreamed about and more; I couldn't wait to start a life together. I had so many plans for you. But then…Emilie refused to hand you over. In my weakened state, she stole my miraculous off me and ran into the night, taking you and my miraculous away from me, leaving me on that mountain to die alone."

The sheer hatred in Nina's tone had Ladybug taking an automatic step back before she could stop herself. Ladybug couldn't help but recoil in horror at the thought of being left to bleed to death on the side of a mountain in the middle of a storm. This was scarily sounding like the nightmares that Ladybug would often have. No! Ladybug refused to accept it. She refused to be deceived again like she had been so many times now.

"I thought I was going to die. I was ready to die," Nina sighed as she explained, "but that's when Leon found me. He was like I had been. He was a researcher who had come across stories of the miraculous, and like me when I was younger, he believed them to be true. So he had set out in search of the temple. I don't know whether it was pure luck or fate, but he found me instead. Unconscious, but still alive. He carried me down the mountain down to the nearest village before I was airlifted to hospital. I kept my identity a secret so that the news wouldn't get hold of the fact that Nina Couture had been found bleeding on the side of a mountain. Then Emilie and the others would know I was alive and come back to finish me off. But I could see that Leon was a true hero. It was people like him who deserved to wield a miraculous, not people like Emilie who left their friends for dead. If he helped me find you, I promised him a miraculous the instant I got my hands on the others."

Ladybug thought back over everything that Nina had just explained to her. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest and her mind was spinning, making it difficult for her to think properly. She knew she needed a clear head with this situation and that she needed to be careful. Despite how insane everything sounded, it all made sense. Nina had obviously thought through her story carefully. However, there was just one thing that intrigued Ladybug.

"But…what does mother of the universe mean?" Ladybug asked slowly.

Nina sighed, looking slightly awkward all of a sudden before turning to face Ladybug with a determined expression. "Marinette…I didn't just create you because I wanted to have a child. I created you because it was foretold that you would also wield both the ladybug and cat miraculous. With my guidance, you would bend the universe to your will," Nina explained manically, "we will eliminate all of the suffering in the world and create a perfect universe where only good prevails."

Ladybug stared at Nina in horror. "But that would require countless sacrifices. You can't just do all of that stuff and then not pay a price for it!"

Nina smirked. "Some prices are worth paying."

Ladybug couldn't believe what she was hearing. Nina seriously thought that she could use her to enact her will on the universe. Who was she to make judgements on people? How could she claim she wanted to do good when she was talking about sacrificing so much, just so she would impose her will on everyone? It made Ladybug feel physically sick. Was this what Nina had deluded herself into thinking? That she was her daughter that she could just use her to take over the universe? How exactly did she plan to get hold of the cat miraculous anyway? That was safely in the hands of Adrien. Unless Hawkmoth had already seized it by now.

As if reading her mind, Nina began to explain further. "All we have to do is defeat Hawkmoth, and seize Chat Noir's miraculous. After that, the universe will be in your hands. Any wish you make will come true. Together, we can change the world, Marinette. We can make it a better place. No more injustice, no more suffering, no more disease, no more poverty, where only the people we deem to be honest and true can live freely. Free from the Audrey and Chloé Bourgeois, free from the Hawkmoths and Emilie Agrestes…free from the Adrien Agrestes who do nothing but lie and scheme to get what they want."

Ladybug gasped, wincing slightly at the mention of what Adrien had done to her.

"You and me together, mother and daughter just like it always should have been, running the universe together, helping people, vanquishing evil," Nina explained with a manic smile on her face. Her eyes lit up in a passionate fire that almost had Ladybug trembling. This was all completely insane. How could Nina think that she was doing good? Was that just what she told herself to ease her conscience? Who was Ladybug kidding, Nina clearly had no conscience. And she clearly wasn't as intelligent as Ladybug previously thought if she thought Ladybug would just give in and fall for all of this.

"Please sweetheart…" Nina held out her arms towards Ladybug, "please say that you'll join me."

This was it. Ladybug kept her face as neutral as possible before slowly stepped towards Nina, allowing herself to become engulfed in her soft, warm arms. Nina embraced her tightly, eagerly accepting Ladybug's silent offer. Nina's sweet smell was almost overpowering. Being in her arms, so close to her, touching her, it all made Ladybug's skin crawl. Nina buried her face in Ladybug's hair and her eyes couldn't help but dart down towards Duusu who was still laying on the floor. Upon seeing Duusu twitch slightly before her eyes slowly fluttered open, Ladybug knew that she had to act fast.

Reaching her hand up as quickly as she possibly could, Ladybug almost had the brooch in her grasp before a hand abruptly gripped her arm, squeezing tight and causing Ladybug to yelp in pain. Nina backed away from her slightly, still gripping onto Ladybug's arm. Tears stung the corner of Ladybug's eyes as she gazed back up at Nina in horror. There was a dangerous fire behind Nina's eyes as she stared down at Ladybug with a look of betrayal and murderous anger.

"You traitor…" Nina gasped out, "After everything I've done for you…they've really done a number on you, haven't they?! They've brainwashed you! Turned you against me! You've become like them! My own daughter, deceiving me, trying to steal my miraculous!"

"I'm not your daughter!" Ladybug screamed at her. "You're crazy!"

"No…Ladybug…" Duusu choked out, still weak and laying on the ground, "she…she is your mother."

Ladybug turned to stare at the kwami with wide, horrified eyes. "W-what?"

"She…she's telling the truth…for once," Duusu continued to choke out.

But…but…

Ladybug turned back to stare at Nina in horror who continued to look down at her with an insane anger that Ladybug had never seen before and hoped to never see again. It sent a violent shiver down her spine, made her feel sick to her stomach and made her feel like she was about to die right that very second. Ladybug had never seen such insane eyes. They were…they were _her_ eyes. Nina…Nina was her mother…Chat Noir had been telling the truth…Nina had been telling the truth…her parents had been lying to her. Her whole life had been a lie.

However, before Ladybug knew it, she was suddenly staring at the other side of the room, her face having been suddenly knocked to one side. Her cheek began to sting painfully and the sound of Nina's hand making contact with her cheek echoed around the room, long after the impact. Nina had slapped her. But before Ladybug could process what had just happened and fight back, Nina had grabbed hold her cheeks between her thumb and her fingers, forcing Ladybug to turn back around and look at her. Nina's fingers dug into her skin, bruising her flesh, causing Ladybug to let out an involuntary whimper.

"I will not be disrespected like that," Nina growled at her. "Y-you'd really do this to me? Your own mother? Your own mother who has worked tirelessly to find you? Who had you taken away from me? Who has done everything for you?"

Ladybug glared at Nina with all the hate she could muster up. "Now I can see why Emilie took me away from you."

Then Ladybug was on the floor. Her shoulder collided painfully with the ground, causing Ladybug to grunt. However, before she could realise what had happened and pick herself up, a leather boot collided with her stomach. The air was knocked out of her and Ladybug cried out as she was repeatedly kicked in the stomach and chest. All the while, Nina screamed incoherently. Ladybug curled into a tight ball, covering her face with her arms, doing everything she could to try and shield herself from Nina's attack. She felt sick…every inch of her body hurt…her brain couldn't process what was going on.

However, Nina's attacked stopped as soon as it started, though it felt like it had lasted for an eternity. She could hear Nina's heels against the floor as she took a few steps away from her. Ladybug remained curled up in a ball, ready to protect herself and terrified of Nina attacking her again. She didn't dare move. She was terrified of any internal damage Nina may have caused. Her insides felt like they had been torn to shreds.

"Look what you've made me do!" Nina screamed, sounding like she was in tears before running towards her. Ladybug flinched as Nina placed her hands on top of her, which only caused her to groan in pain. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm so so so sorry. I don't mean to hurt you, it's just…you made me do it."

"I didn't…make you…do anything," Ladybug managed to choke out despite the pain.

"Yes you did," Nina affirmed, "you disrespected me and naughty children deserve to be punished. Now…I'm going to offer you one last chance. Will you join me in making the world a better place?"

"Never," Ladybug hissed through clenched teeth.

"It seems your little friends raised you well. They were just as feisty when I brought them in too." Nina smirked down at her.

"What are you talking about?" Ladybug gasped.

Still smirking, Nina quickly walked over to her desk where she grabbed a remote. She pointed it towards the wall on the right before typing in a code. To Ladybug's shock, the wall suddenly raised up revealing a secret room that looked like it had been completely soundproofed as there was a thick padding all over the walls, the ceiling and on the floor. Ladybug gasped before crying out at the sight of her parents and Master Fu tied up inside the small, cramped space. They looked just as terrified and horrified to see her there as well.

"Marinette!" Sabine cried out.

"Mom!" In that moment, she didn't care that her mother apparently knew that she was Ladybug. All she wanted to do was get them all out safely.

"Leon!" Nina yelled just as Ladybug began to push herself up to run towards them, ignoring the immense pain that she was in. All she cared about was getting her parents and Master Fu out of here alive. So it was Nina who had kidnapped Master Fu. She must have been looking for the other miraculous, that's why his house had been torn apart. She must have gotten her parents while they were out looking for her. This was all Ladybug's fault. She had let all of this happen. She was so stupid!

However, before Ladybug could reach them, the doors that made up the main entrance to Nina's office burst open, and before she knew it, Ladybug was trapped in strong arms that kept her pinned in place, almost squashing and suffocating her in the process.

"Let me go!" Ladybug demanded. "Let _them_ go!"

Nina simply smirked and shook her head. "They stole something precious from me and for that they all deserve to pay."

"But you have me now! I'll stay here with you, just _please_ let them go!" Ladybug begged with tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. Her heart was in her mouth and guilt began eating away at her. She had done this them.

"Marinette, no!" Tom yelled at her but she ignored him.

"We're so sorry, Marinette, we tried to stop all of this," Sabine cried out.

"Your crimes will return to haunt you, Nina." Master Fu's voice remained calm and collected.

"Shut up!" Nina screamed at them, stomping her foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum. She then turned her attention back to Ladybug who was still trapped in Leon's arms. Ladybug continued to struggle to get free, kicking her legs against him as hard as she could while her arms remained trapped. However Leon might as well have been made out of titanium with the amount of progress she was making. Nina continued to think as she stared at Ladybug, though Ladybug made a point of ignoring her.

"Duusu, feathers up!" Nina commanded, ignoring the kwamis pleas as she was drawn into the brooch in a burst of blue light. Ladybug shielded her eyes before gasping at the sight of Le Paon standing before her. She looked just as she had done in all of the photos. Le Paon gripped her fan tightly in her hand before slowly walking towards Ladybug. The whole room had gone silent and all Ladybug could do was watch as Le Paon continued to walk towards her.

"It's a good thing I have other ways of getting what I want," Nina purred, smirking sadistically as she held up her fan. Ladybug watched nervously, frozen in place by fear as Nina got closer and closer.

"NO!" Her parents and Master Fu began screaming at the same time.

"NO, PLEASE!" Sabine begged.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO HER! KILL US INSTEAD!" Tom yelled, lunging forward despite being tied up, trying to wiggle his way towards them.

"Think about this, Nina," Master Fu begged, a frightened edge to his normally calm tone, "this is your own daughter you're doing this to."

But Nina ignored all of them as she held up her fan so that one of the orange eyes was facing directly towards Ladybug. Ladybug became completely transfixed by it, unable to stop staring, drawn in by the beautiful design. Nina's smirk widened as the orange eye began to glow ever so slightly.

"That's right, Marinette, just relax, sweety. Let's take a look inside that head of yours and see what we can correct," Nina soothed.

Ladybug felt her body completely relax and her mind went blank, falling completely limp in Leon's arms. The last thing she heard were the screams of her family and Master Fu as the orange light completely consumed her.

* * *

 **Oh Marinette…what on earth have you gotten yourself into? I really was hoping to have this story finished long before now, but my stupid and awful real life keeps getting in the way. Not to mention the fact that for some reason I just really struggled to write this chapter. It wasn't that I didn't know what I was doing, it just kept refusing to come out right, uhhh. But anyway, I hope that you guys think this chapter is okay and please feel free to leave a review letting me know your thoughts. It always helps me out a great deal. See you guys soon!**

 **ANNOUNCEMENT: I've created a blog! It's all about Miraculous Ladybug and my fanfictions. You'll get to see what inspired my Miraculous Ladybug fanfictions, get to see my notes and plans, and soon, I'll be doing an entry all about Destiny's Dance. I'll also be reviewing and recommending other Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction as well as talking about the show in general. I'll be reviewing the latest episodes, discussing fan theories and doing character analyses. If that sounds interesting to you, then feel free to have a look. Anyone can leave a comment and you can interact with me and other fans of the show. You can find it at tauruspixie . blogspot . com (just remove the spaces – fanfiction is allergic to links).**


	43. Opening The Void

**Ahh rainy days. A writer's best friend. I had hoped to get this chapter up yesterday, but I noticed a huge error that needed fixing, so I needed time to think that through. Good job I spotted it before it was too late. Anyway, thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews on the last chapter. I was so paranoid that it had been a terrible chapter, but thankfully you guys seemed to enjoy it. Also, this story now has over 200 favourites and 300 followers which is insane! Thank you so much guys! I can't believe how many people actually enjoy this story!**

* * *

 **Chapter Forty-Three: Opening The Void  
**

"Words cannot describe how much you have utterly betrayed and disappointed me, Adrien." Hawkmoth's words echoed through his dark lair as he stared up towards the large window, the only source of light. White butterflies swirled around the room, their wings lightly brushing against Adrien's skin occasionally as he remained tied up on the ground, his eyes closed as he tried to block everything out. He had hoped that at any moment he might wake up. That this had all just been one long nightmare. That his father wasn't really Hawkmoth. That he hadn't done and said all those things to Ladybug and that she didn't hate him. That Nina wasn't really Ladybug's mother and that she was safe somewhere. That his mother hadn't suffered a fate worse than death by being pushed into that strange void.

It was like Adrien didn't even know his own life anymore. Everything had been a lie. His life had been filled with nothing but secrets. It was like he had awoken from a blissful sleep into a harsh reality that was completely unfamiliar to him. Like he had slipped into a parallel world where everything was the same but every possible bad outcome had come to pass. At those thoughts, he squeezed his eyes even more tightly shut, hoping and praying that he would wake up at any moment. Then everything could go back to normal. Go back to the way they used to be.

"Why can't you see that I'm doing all of this for us?" Hawkmoth growled out, keeping his back to Adrien as he twirled the cat miraculous between his finger and thumb, allowing it to shine brightly in the light seeping through the window above them. "Don't you want your mother back?"

Adrien wasn't even going to dignify that with a response. His mother was his world, of course he wanted her back. But not like this. Not at the cost of someone else's life - Ladybug's life. When his mother had first vanished, Adrien laid awake for hours at night, sobbing into his sheets, thinking of all the things he would do to get her back. Because why him? Why did he have to be the one to lose the most important person in his life? It didn't seem fair. This was the kind of horrible tragedy that happened to other people, that you hear about in the news and briefly feel sorry for the family, before forgetting about it and moving on with your day. Adrien had been so sheltered all of his life, he had almost felt untouchable.

That was until he lost his mother.

But he knew that his mother wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want someone else to die in her place, especially the girl she had worked so hard to save. Adrien wasn't so sure if he could live with himself if he made that choice anyway. However, that didn't stop a large part of him longing to just give in to his father, to help him get his mother back. But Adrien knew the right thing to do was to let go. As unfair as it was, his mother was gone. No one else should have to die for her to live. Who was Adrien to even think about playing God like that? How could his father even contemplate such a thing? His mother would be horrified.

How could Adrien have been so stupid? How could he have let all of this happen? He had been living under the same roof as his father his whole life, how had he not noticed that his own father was Hawkmoth? He should have been able to see it and put a stop to it a lot sooner. His behaviour these past few years all made sense now. It explained why he had been extra harsh on people; he had been creating akuma victims. It explained why he had become extra secretive, very rarely leaving the house, even if there was something important he needed to attend to. After seeing his father's secret vault and finding the book on the miraculous, Adrien should have figured it out. Or maybe he had subconsciously not wanted to believe it was true? He had been so quick to dismiss Ladybug's theory. Ladybug had been smart. She had caught onto his father's suspicious behaviour and he had helped her lose the scent. If only Adrien had been smarter and acted like a proper superhero, not letting his feelings get in the way of protecting Paris and finding the identity of Hawkmoth. But hindsight was a wonderfully cruel gift.

There was no going back now. There was no fixing things. Adrien had stupidly made sure of that. He had hurt his lady. How could he have done that to her? He honestly didn't blame her for believing that he was some selfish monster who played with her feelings. After all, that's what he was. That's exactly what he had done. He had done nothing but thought of himself during this whole thing. He had wanted so desperately to know who the girl was behind the mask; the girl he was madly in love with. Being the selfish fool that he was, he had followed her with no regard for her feelings or her safety. He had kept it a secret from her and given her mixed messages as Adrien and Chat Noir. He had confused her and made her feel like she was losing her mind.

If he hadn't had done any of that, then Hawkmoth and Nina wouldn't have been able to swoop in and easily manipulate the situation like they had. Adrien had practically handed them their victory and he didn't know if he was ever going to be able to forgive himself. Now his lady was likely in Nina's clutches. Hawkmoth was sure of it. Even though Adrien had waited and waited outside of Nina's office, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Nina found her if Ladybug had never returned to her.

Was his lady safe?

Adrien wanted to slap himself over that thought. Of course she wasn't safe. She was out there all alone, hurt and scared and it was all because of him. Or she was in Nina's hands, having her head filled with lies and being further manipulated. But what if Nina had hurt her? Adrien's heart lurched in his chest as dark images invaded his mind, causing him to grow even more panicked and petrified. Ladybug was her daughter, surely Nina wouldn't hurt her…would she? Adrien's mind leapt back to the image of Nina pushing his mother into the bright void that had claimed her life. If she could murder her own best friend…murder who knows how many other people…

Adrien felt sick.

"I'm honestly surprised it's taking them this long to get here," Hawkmoth sighed in exasperation, "maybe Ladybug was smarter than I gave her credit for and is proving difficult to manipulate. But then again, Nina does have other means of persuading people to join her side."

"What are you talking about?" Adrien demanded, speaking to his father for the first time since he lost the fight against him. Hawkmoth's vague statement made him incredibly nervous. He couldn't remember if he had ever come across exactly what power the peacock miraculous granted people. Adrien wasn't even sure if he wanted to know. What if that power was being used on his lady right now? No! What had he done?! Why had he let her run off like that?!

Hawkmoth's cold, grey eyes flickered down at his son tied up on the ground. Adrien stared back up at his father with an expression filled with nothing but contempt. All he could see when he looked at his father now, was a monster. A supervillain. It wasn't his father that was standing before him. It shattered Adrien's heart into millions of tiny pieces to see his father this way. To see him dressed in that grey and purple suit with the grey mask over his face. He had taken his mother's miraculous and abused its power. It terrified Adrien to think of what his mother thought of them right now if she could see them from wherever she was.

"Le Paon has the power to manipulate the mind," Hawkmoth explained with a slight, smug grin on his face, "so if Ladybug is showing any signs of hesitation or resistance, Le Paon will not hesitate to control her. But that leaves her vulnerable. She will have to concentrate on both protecting herself, fighting me and making sure she keeps control over Ladybug. But that shall be her undoing."

Adrien began to feel dizzy at the thought of Ladybug being completely enthralled by Le Paon.

"I was never told much about what was happening during the time Nina was having a baby. Your mother wouldn't tell me much; she wanted to protect me." Hawkmoth's eyes tightened slightly, "But what I did know was that Nina was planning something big, and your mother knew as well the instant she found out Nina was pregnant. Nina doesn't do things out of love or for no reason. No…she needed this baby for something and your mother wasn't going to let that happen."

Hawkmoth began pacing the room, growing increasingly agitated as he did so. All Adrien could do was watch, completely horrified by what he was hearing. Hawkmoth clenched his hands into tight fists and spoke through gritted teeth as he continued to explain while pacing erratically.

"I _begged_ your mother not to interfere. I knew that only trouble could come from this and that Nina was growing more and more dangerous and unhinged."

"Look who's talking," Adrien mumbled bitterly before wincing as his hands and feet grew even more sore the longer they remained tied up. He could feel the circulation being cut off and the tips of his fingers and toes were beginning to ache and tingle. His father had well and truly made sure that Adrien wouldn't be able to escape or even move.

Hawkmoth ignored Adrien's snide remark and kept explaining. "But you know your mother. She has a good heart. She always wanted to do what was right and was headstrong and stubborn. She didn't listen to me. She worked with the guardians and the father of the baby to end Nina's games once and for all. Your mother was different when she returned. I could tell she was haunted by something that had happened. I only found out later was that it was because she had left Nina to die on that mountain after she had given birth to Ladybug. I saw how much it affected her. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep, and when she did sleep, she would soon wake up screaming from night terrors. For a while, she couldn't even be around you because it brought her back to that night on the mountain." Hawkmoth suddenly stopped pacing and his eyes grew sad before he glanced back at Adrien.

"I know you think I care little for you and I can understand why you do think like that," Hawkmoth sighed out, "but while you were little, I was a very hands-on father. When your mother was struggling to cope, someone had to step up to the mark. I only became distant because I didn't want you to grow up to be like your mother. I saw how much caring for others affected her, and I didn't want that for you. Caring too much for others only gets you hurt and manipulated. I was harsh and strict on you because I was trying to protect you. I couldn't lose you like I had lost your mother. After your mother vanished, I knew Nina had done something to her. I returned to the temple and there was her miraculous and the door to the room with the void was wide open. I knew instantly what had happened. So I swore from that moment that I would avenge her. That I would bring her back and I would make Nina pay for what she had done. I would undo every hideous crime she had committed, starting with that daughter of hers, the one who was responsible for all of this!"

"Marinette was just a baby!" Adrien cried out. "She didn't ask for this, she didn't want this! She didn't ask to be born! Marinette would never hurt anyone!"

"Wouldn't she?" Hawkmoth raised an eyebrow at his son and Adrien immediately knew what he was referring to. He winced as the memories of their argument charged their way to the forefront of his mind. The harsh words she had spoken to him, how she had refused to listen…but no! That was his own fault. He had hurt her so deeply so how could he have expected anything less?

"If we don't get rid of her, then she will always be a potential threat!" Hawkmoth hissed. "She has Nina's genes, she could easily succumb to the lust for power that often comes with wielding a miraculous. With or without Nina, the prophecy that was made about her still could come true!"

"What?" Adrien gasped.

Hawkmoth glared down at the silver ring in his hand. "That Ladybug would wield both the ladybug and cat miraculous, gaining absolute power and mould the universe into her own perfect image."

"Ladybug would never do that!" Adrien hissed at his father.

"She would if she was under Nina's control," Hawkmoth slowly turned to look at Adrien again. "There is no other way, son. Ladybug needs to be stopped. Her miraculous needs to be removed. It is a chance we can't afford to gamble with."

Adrien froze in horror, his eyes wide as he gazed at his father before his eyes flickered back down to the ground. Was his father right? Was Ladybug doomed to become this monster? Was the girl he loved destined to become his arch enemy? It was hard to imagine Ladybug ever committing such heinous crimes, but if she was under Nina's control…

Would Ladybug have enough will power to fight her off? Just how powerful was this control? With or without his miraculous, Adrien knew that he would have to stop Nina and Ladybug. As much as he loved Ladybug, he knew he couldn't just stand by and watch her gain absolute power. He would have to stop her.

However, Adrien's thoughts were soon interrupted by a deep rumbling noise above them. Both Hawkmoth and Adrien froze, looking up towards the ceiling. Hawkmoth smirked in anticipation while Adrien could feel his stomach sinking down lower and lower. The butterflies in the room began to flutter around even more erratically, as if they could sense something that Adrien couldn't. Though Adrien was beginning to develop a deep sinking feeling of dread. Adrien strained his ears and could just about hear Nathalie's voice shouting at someone before she screamed in pain.

Adrien gasped before instinctively looking towards his father who was still staring at the ceiling with a wide smirk of anticipation on his face. Nina was here. The question was, did she have her miraculous? Would Ladybug be with her. Adrien desperately hoped that she wasn't. It would mean that she was still missing, but at least Adrien would be able to take comfort in the fact that she hadn't fallen into Nina's clutches.

All was quiet for a few seconds before Adrien yelped and shuffled away as best as he could as the entrance to Hawkmoth's lair burst open. The portion of the ceiling that made way for the entrance collapsed down onto the ground as if a giant had stepped on it and knocked it to the ground. It slammed into the ground with such force, that small pieces of concrete were sent flying around in different directions, bouncing off the walls and the ground, with a few pieces narrowly missing Adrien as he tried to clumsily dodge them while still tied up on the ground. Meanwhile, Hawkmoth remained still, tense and ready for whatever was about to happen.

Adrien kept his eyes pinned to the hole that had now been made above them.. He couldn't quite see out of it, but he knew that Nina had to be up there. He was expecting to see her slowly descend at any second. Once again he began internally begging for Ladybug not to be with her. He couldn't have her falling into this trap. If Hawkmoth managed to get hold of her miraculous, that was it. Ladybug would be…be…Adrien could feel bile rising up in his throat at the thought. His mother in exchange for the love of his life. His mother wouldn't want this…it would destroy her…it would destroy Adrien…how could his father not see any of this?! Did he not know his own wife at all?!

A blue blur quickly glided down from the entrance to the ground. It happened so fast, that Adrien blinked, unsure of whether he had seen anything at all. But he could sense that him and his father were no longer alone in the lair. Slowly, Adrien looked back down again to the ground just below the hole in the ceiling. An unfamiliar woman stood before him, dressed head to toe in the colour blue. Her long, blue dress flowed elegantly around her and down to the ground. Her glowing orange eyes stood out, locking instantly onto Hawkmoth and Adrien. The woman smirked as she caught sight of them, clinging on tightly to her fan that was made up of a wide variety of large blue feathers with orange eyes.

No…

Le Paon…

Adrien's eyes instantly zeroed in on the peacock brooch that was pinned to her chest. She…she had her miraculous back. That meant that she had got to Ladybug! W-where was Ladybug? Had she been discarded somewhere and Le Paon had taken her miraculous? Adrien couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He felt like screaming out loud, however, he remained frozen in place, unable to move at the sight before him. Nina had her miraculous back. That made her ten times more dangerous. Hawkmoth didn't seem phased as he grinned at her.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to show up," Hawkmoth sneered, "I was beginning to think you had lost interest."

Le Paon smirked back. "There were a few problems along the way, but it's all sorted now."

"I figured." Hawkmoth smirked.

"Where's Ladybug?!" Adrien screamed at Le Paon, interrupting her banter with Hawkmoth. The blue villain turned her attention towards Adrien before she sneered at the sight of him. Adrien kept glaring at her though, refusing to be intimidated. If she had hurt one hair on Ladybug's head then he was going to make sure that she paid dearly for doing so. Finally, Le Paon smirked again before looking back up into his father's office.

"Ooooh Ladybug!" Le Paon sang. "Lover boy is asking for you!"

A red blur slammed down onto the ground, vibrating the whole room. Adrien's breath became caught in his throat and his heart thudded to a stop as his eyes rested on Ladybug who remained crouched down on the ground, her face hidden by the top of her head as she looked down. She didn't appear to be injured and for that, Adrien finally released the breath that he had been holding. However, Adrien once again began to grow increasingly nervous as Ladybug remained completely still, not rushing over to help him like she normally would, despite how much she still probably hated him right now. Instead, she remained closely by Le Paon's side.

"So…your own daughter wouldn't join you so you resulted to controlling her. Pathetic." Hawkmoth mocked and Adrien gasped at his father's observations.

No! It couldn't be true! Nina had gotten to her!

Le Paon chuckled before slowly shaking her head, folding her arms across her chest casually. Adrien gazed back at Ladybug who began to slowly look up. Her eyes instantly locked with Adrien's and he felt a chill roll down his spine at the sight of her eyes. They were cold, dead, filled with nothing but hate and bloodlust as she stared back at him. Those weren't the warm, kind eyes of his lady. It was like he was suddenly looking at a different person. That wasn't his lady. It was like she was some sort of evil twin. She looked exactly the same, yet at the same time, she looked incredibly different. Even Hawkmoth gasped as he stared at her, taking a small, automatic step back. What had happened to his father's confidence? He had been so sure he would win this…unless…unless something had gone wrong. Le Paon had laughed at Hawkmoth's mention of controlling Ladybug. So did she not have control over Ladybug after all? But then why was Ladybug siding with Le Paon? Why was she looking at them like that?

However, Hawkmoth soon regained his composure before chuckling. "That's pretty sick even by your standards, Nina."

"And doesn't that just terrify you," Le Peon teased before holding her fan in front of herself, playing with the feathers, pretending to be nonchalant. "I knew placing her under mind control would only weaken me and leave me vulnerable to your attacks. I'm not that stupid Eaglemoth, or whatever it is your calling yourself." She looked back up the both of them again, a sadistic smirk forming on her face. "Marinette unfortunately proved more difficult to convince than I had anticipated. Master Fu really had brainwashed her well. But there was a simple and more effective way to fix that."

"What do you mean?" Adrien growled at her, his eyes flicker between Le Paon and Ladybug.

"I can do more than just control people, Chat Noir." Le Paon grinned manically. "I can invade and manipulate people's minds. Make them think what I want them to think, erase memories and give them new, false ones. I invaded Marinette's mind and twisted and warped it."

Adrien gazed at Le Paon in horror.

"I cut away at all of her memories." Le Paon grinned as she motioned with her first two fingers, pretending they were scissors. "Memories of her love for you – _snip._ Memories of growing up with Tom and Sabine – _snip._ Memories of Master Fu's guidance and advice – _snip._ All those memories replaced with a love and devotion to me, replaced with a passion for my cause to make the universe a better place, replaced with a hatred for you and for anyone who gets in our way. As far as Ladybug knows, I raised her. I re-programmed her brain like a computer to never question me, to always obey me. The Marinette you knew and loved is gone." Le Paon pretending to look upset before laughing.

"You sick, evil MONSTER!" Adrien snarled at her, trying to push himself up off the ground before immediately tripped and falling back down again. How could she do that to her own daughter?! Ladybug…he mind had been invaded and manipulated against her will. All of her happy memories…were gone. Her mind had been nothing but a play-thing for Le Paon. Now she was a shell. A different person who had her brain picked at and twisted until she was no longer recognisable. How could someone do such a thing?!

Le Paon merely laughed at Adrien's attempts to get at her before she turned serious again and glared at Hawkmoth. She then looked back up towards the hole above her.

"Master Fu, are the other miraculous nearby?" She called out.

Adrien looked up again and from his new position, he had a better view of the room above them. Standing just on the edge of the large, gaping hole was the man Adrien recognised to be Nina's assistant, as well as Master Fu who was being held firmly by Nina's assistant. Adrien gasped at the sight of him. He looked exhausted and badly beaten. Most of his face was swollen and bruised. So it was Nina who had kidnapped Master Fu! Adrien should have known. He should have immediately worked it out. She must have been torturing him for information on the miraculous.

Master Fu simply glared down at her and didn't say anything. Le Paon sighed in annoyance before shrugging. "No matter, I can get that information out of you as soon as I'm finished with my old flame here." She turned her attention back to Hawkmoth, glaring at him murderously.

"What did I ever see in you?" Hawkmoth stared back an expression or nothing but pure disgust. "Emilie is ten times the woman you'll ever be."

That remark seemed to make Le Paon see red as she screamed incoherently before charging towards Hawkmoth. He was ready for her though, and instantly swung his cane at her. Le Paon instantly flung herself backwards again, growling as her eyes locked onto the butterfly brooch that was pinned just below Hawkmoth's neck. However, she quickly glanced towards Adrien and Ladybug before smirking.

"Ladybug, make sure to get the kitty's miraculous, and remember to play nice with your new friend," Le Paon ordered before charging towards Hawkmoth again.

Adrien blinked. She must not have figured it out yet that his father had taken his miraculous. This could work to his advantage. Maybe if Ladybug did try to fight him, he could try and talk to her and maybe fix some of the damage that Le Paon had caused. If he could get Ladybug back on side, then Le Paon would be finished.

Ladybug smirked and didn't say a word as she swung her yo-yo and wrapped it around Adrien. He gasped as the wire wrapped tightly around him, however, he knew instantly that he could use this to his advantage. As Ladybug began pulling him towards her, Adrien rubbed his rope tied hands against the wire, immediately severing the rope before he wiggled his arms free from the wire of the yo-yo. He grabbed hold of the wire and pulled Ladybug towards him who gasped as she was suddenly yanked forward. She growled as she fell to the ground and Adrien quickly pulled at the rope around his feet to untie them before he ran towards Ladybug, jumping on top of her and pinning her down.

"Get off me!" Ladybug yelled, thrashing around.

"Ladybug, listen to me, this isn't who you really are!" Adrien begged.

"Give me your miraculous!" Ladybug ordered, ignoring Adrien's words.

"Ladybug, please!" Adrien could feel tears stinging the corners of his eyes. "Come back to me."

Ladybug growled before finally managing to wiggle one of her arms free. Adrien gasped in shock as Ladybug punched him in the face, knocking him off her in the process. His cheek instantly began throbbing and Adrien raised a hand to it, trying his best to ignore the pain as he did so. His lady had just done that to him. No! It wasn't her! This was just what Le Paon had turned her into. And Adrien needed to find some way to get her back.

Adrien could vaguely still hear Hawkmoth and Le Paon battling and fighting each other in the background, but he ignored them and turned his attention back towards Ladybug. She stalked towards him, swinging her yo-yo around in front of her, creating a glowing, protective red shield. If only he had his miraculous then this would be easier. Adrien needed to get Ladybug to listen, but he didn't want to hurt her either.

"It's me, Adrien," Adrien continued to beg, "please, my lady, you've got to believe me. Nina is no ally of yours. Just look at what she's done to you. I'm so sorry about what happened between us. I was selfish and I was stupid and I know I hurt you really badly, but I know you – the real you – would never want to fight me. You have to fight this, my lady. I love you."

"Lies!" Ladybug screamed at him before charging towards him, spinning her yo-yo even more rapidly. Adrien managed to dive out of the way just in time, but Ladybug quickly righted herself and turned around to glare menacingly at him. Her blue eyes were filled with nothing but hate as she stared at him. There was no warmth, no love. There appeared to be no trace of Marinette left behind those cold eyes. It was haunting and it was frightening. Would there be any way to fix this? Ladybug didn't seem to be listening to him. But surely there had to be a way to reverse it? It was miraculous magic that had done this to her after all.

While Adrien was distracted by his deep thoughts, Ladybug swung her yo-yo and wrapped it around Adrien once again. He gasped and tried to fight back and wiggle his way free, but it was too late. He fell to the ground, banging his head against the concrete in the process. He immediately began to feel dizzy and his vision blurred before he shook his head and forced his mind to stay alert. He couldn't black out. Not now.

Ladybug stalked towards him and all the while she pulled the wire tighter and tighter. Adrien gasped for air as the wire began to crush his limbs and his chest. It was growing increasing more difficult for him to breathe which really didn't help his dizziness. Despite the wire of her yo-yo being incredibly thin, it was like a large boa constrictor had wrapped around him and was now using its coils to strangle the life out of him. The wire dug into his flesh, piercing his skin. Any second now, he would be suffocated and sliced and diced into tiny little pieces by Ladybug. She gazed down at him, a look off deep concentration on her face with not a hint of hesitation or remorse.

Adrien knew he had lost. This was all his fault, so maybe this is how he would pay for his mistakes. But at least he could draw comfort in the fact that the last image he would see was the face of his lady. He could feel his eyes drooping as his brain became even more starved of oxygen. His throat and his lungs burned as they begged him to take a large gulp of air, but there was nothing Adrien could do. Ladybug continued to glare down at him before she suddenly froze.

The wire around Adrien loosened slightly, just enough for him to gasp for air. It filled his rejoicing lungs, though he had no time to savour the moment. Instead, he stared at Ladybug in shock who remained frozen in place, her eyes far off and distant as if she was lost inside her own mind. What was going on? Why had she stopped? Was she suddenly remembering everything?

Ladybug stumbled backwards slightly and the wire loosened even more, releasing itself from deep inside Adrien's skin. Blood oozed down his flesh, but Adrien paid no attention to it. His eyes remained locked on Ladybug, willing for her to come through this.

Finally, Ladybug dropped her yo-yo and clutched at her head. Her earrings began to make a strange sound which confused Adrien even more.

"Tikki…stop…let me…" Ladybug growled, still clutching her head.

Tikki? As in…her kwami? Adrien gasped as he continued to watch. Was her kwami trying to stop her and get through to her?

"I…must…kill him…" Ladybug gasped out, her murderous eyes turned towards Chat Noir again before she groaned and doubled over as if she was in pain. "Stop it…Tikki…what are you…doing?!"

It was if two people were fighting for control of Ladybug's body and all Adrien could do was watch helplessly.

"Come on, Tikki!" Adrien encouraged as best as he could.

Ladybug blinked rapidly. "I…I feel…AHHHHHH!"

Adrien gasped in horror as Ladybug's earrings began beeping rapidly, just like his ring used to do before he was about to transform back. In a burst of pink light, Ladybug's costume disappeared and soon, Marinette stood where Ladybug had been. Adrien immediately darted forward and caught Marinette in his arms, cradling her head in his arm before she could hit the ground. Her eyes were closed, her skin was pale and her whole form was trembling slightly.

A small cough near his knee soon also caught Adrien's attention. He looked down to see the small red kwami he had seen that night on Marinette's balcony. Tikki was shivering and curled up into the tight ball on the ground. Adrien scooped her up into his hand and gazed down at her worriedly. Tikki's blue eyes slowly fluttered open, gazing up at Adrien before they darted towards Marinette worriedly.

"I…I tried to…heal her…" Tikki managed to gasp out, "I tried to stop her…it took…all of my…strength…but there's…so much damage." The small kwami's breathing grew increasingly laboured.

"I-is she going to be okay?!" Adrien demanded, terrified.

Before Tikki could say anything, Marinette's eyes snapped open and once again they were filled with nothing but hate and anger as she stared up at Adrien. Marinette screamed and yelled, pushing herself out of Adrien's lap. She raised her fist into the air, ready to punch and fight Adrien before…

"GAH!" Marinette yelped in agonising pain. All of a sudden, a large shadow loomed over both of them, but all Adrien could do was remain frozen and stare at Marinette in shock. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared just above Adrien's head. The blow that Adrien had been expecting never came as Marinette's arm slowly went limp before falling to her side.

"NOOO!" Le Paon's screams echoed around the room.

"Marinette!" Tikki squeaked in fear.

"You underestimated me, _Le Paon._ " Hawkmoth's voice sounded incredibly nearby all of a sudden.

Adrien finally looked up to see that his father was stood just behind Marinette, his hand resting on her shoulder. Behind them, Le Paon lay bleeding at the other side of the room. She looked badly injured and looked like she was struggling to get up as she stared at the scene before her, her eyes filled with pain, fear and horror. There were slashed across her face and one of her ankles was twisted at a slightly odd angle. Adrien then looked back up towards his father who also looked pretty beat up, but nowhere near as badly as Le Paon. What was his father doing?

That's when Adrien finally looked down. He saw the blood before he saw anything else. The thick, red liquid oozed from Marinette's side and that's when Adrien finally caught sight of the silver blade glittering slightly in the light, blood trickling down it as it embedded itself deep into Marinette's side.

"NOOOOOO!" Adrien's screams left his mouth before he even had time to process what was going on. Hawkmoth didn't say a word, didn't even react to what he had just done before he reached up with the hand that had been placed on Marinette's shoulder and plucked her earrings from her ears. Tikki immediately vanished from Adrien's hand and he reached up just in time as Hawkmoth quickly pulled his blade out of Marinette, leaving her to fall limply forward into Adrien's waiting arms.

"My lady?" Adrien asked shakily, cradling Marinette in his arms. She blinked up at him, seemingly not knowing what was going on. It seemed like she tried to say something for a second, but only a strange gargling sound made it's way past her throat. Tears streamed down Adrien's cheeks as he stared down at her, clinging onto her tightly. She still felt warm, she was still alive.

"MARINETTE!" Adrien vaguely heard Master Fu call. He looked up just in time to see Master Fu jump up and wrap his cane around Nina's assistant's throat. Despite this guy being huge, he looked like he didn't stand a chance against Master Fu. Adrien heard the old guardian threaten the man before he finally relented and helped Master Fu down into the lair. The guardian clumsily ran over as fast as he could, limping slightly as he did so. He collapsed onto his knees next to both of them and immediately began examining Marinette's wound.

"Your shirt, Adrien!" Master Fu ordered quickly.

Adrien nodded and immediately shrugged himself out of it. Master Fu grabbed it before it fell to the floor and scrunched it up into a tight ball and pressed it against Marinette's stab wound. Marinette winced and coughed while Adrien responded by embracing her tightly, trying to keep her distracted from the pain.

"At last! The ladybug and the cat miraculous…they're MINE!" Hawkmoth cried out gleefully, staring down at them in his hands.

"NO!" Le Peon cried out, trying to push herself up again, only to immediately collapse.

Adrien glared up at his father, watching as he renounced the butterfly miraculous before tossing it to one side. Gabriel placed the earrings on his ears before sliding the ring onto his finger. Pink and green light began to engulf him and Adrien tried his best to shield his eyes while also still trying to keep a close eye on what was going on.

"Absolute power…" Gabriel yelled from within the bright light. "I can make my greatest wish come true! I wish…I wish to bring my wife, Emilie Agreste, back from the void!"

The room instantly filled itself with a blinding white light. Adrien and Master Fu grunted as they looked away while Adrien reached down and placed his hands over Marinette's half-lidded eyes, hoping to shield her as best as he could. The light began to dim, however, a bright spot in the room remained. Gabriel remained engulfed in light while a small crack began to open in the air, just like what Adrien had seen in his visions.

"I offer you, this life, in exchange for my wife's," Gabriel continued.

"NO!" Adrien yelled as he could feel Marinette growing weaker in his arms. Blood from her wound began to gravitate towards the portal, oozing towards it in small red streams, as if the portal was sucking the very life out of her. And there was nothing anyone could do. His father had won. Everything had gone according to plan. This was the end. He was going to lose his lady forever, he realised in horror as he clung to her even tighter, as if that somehow might help keep her alive for just a little bit longer.

"Marinette! Fight it! Hang in there!" Adrien begged as her skin grew paler and paler. Her body began to feel cold and her breathing grew more laboured. He watched as all the life was being gruesomely and slowly sucked out of her. Her body grew limp and Adrien watched in horror and fear as her eyes clouded over, rolling to the back of her head.

Adrien then turned towards Gabriel. "FATHER, PLEASE STOP THIS! YOU'RE KILLING HER! I'M BEGGING YOU! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

But his father ignored him. The portal opened wider and a tall, slender figure began to slowly emerge. Adrien gasped as he recognised the shape. That unmistakable shape. She walked slowly forward as if she was in a daze, her body almost made out of pure light. Her eyes scanned the room before they finally came to rest on Marinette, Adrien and Master Fu.

"Mother…" Adrien breathed as he couldn't help but stare at her, completely transfixed.

She was still made out of pure light as her expression turned to one of horror as she took in the scene before her. It didn't look like her physical body had completely reformed yet, but it was slowly getting there as her long blonde hair billowed out behind her.

"My love!" Gabriel cried out.

Emilie said nothing as her expression grew more and more disgusted before the sound of Le Paon gasping in fear caught her attention. Adrien watched as his mother instantly dragged herself forward, as if an invisible rope was hooked around her, trying to pull her back into the void. Her eyes were locked on Le Paon as she screamed in fear and tried to shuffle away as much as she could.

"H-hey, Emilie…l-long time n-no see," Le Paon chuckled nervously. "Hey! What are you doing! Get off me!"

Emilie grabbed hold of Le Paon as tightly as possible and despite how much Le Paon tried to fight back, her old best friend was too strong for her. She screamed and thrashed around as Emilie grabbed hold of the peacock miraculous and ripped it from Nina's chest. Blue light surrounded them and soon Nina lost her transformation, gasping in terror as she did so. Emile threw the miraculous to the other side of the room before allowing herself to be pulled backwards by the void, still clinging onto Nina as she did so.

"EMILIE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Gabriel cried out. "NO! I WISHED FOR THIS! I CAN CONTROL THE WHOLE UNIVERSE! I WISHED FOR YOU TO RETURN!"

"You are a fool, Hawkmoth," Master Fu sighed.

"NO! GET OFF ME! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND!" Nina cried out as she dug her nails into the ground, leaving scratch marks as she was dragged across it. She kicked and thrashed around, trying to get Emilie off her as they continued to be pulled back towards the portal.

"EMILIE!" Gabriel cried out in terror, trying to lunge forward to stop her before an invisible force knocked him backwards. Emilie shot her husband one final disgusted look as she was slowly pulled in.

"NOOOOOOO!" Nina's screams continued to echo around the room as Emilie disappeared into the void, closely followed by Nina as she was dragged in behind her.

And just like that, the two women disappeared into the bright void before the portal collapsed on itself and disappeared, sealing the two old best friends away together for eternity.

* * *

 **Well that was a whirlwind of a dramatic chapter. I thought that would be a very fitting end for Nina, giving her what she deserved. I hope that this chapter was okay, as I'm not very good at writing battles, action scenes and physical fights. But writing what happened to Nina was incredibly satisfying so I hope that you guys got a kick out of it too. A bit of a disaster happened while I was editing, so I just hope I managed to go over and fix all of the errors. Seriously, it was like fate didn't want me to edit this chapter. Stupid technology grrr. Only two chapters left now guys. What's going to happen to Marinette? Is she okay? You'll find out very soon. I hope that you guys have a good weekend and I'll see you all again soon.**


	44. Visit From The Other Side

**Welcome back! Thank you so much for all of your reviews on the last chapter, I really appreciate it! The amount of support I have received for this story never ceases to amaze me and I really can't thank you all enough. It feels really surreal to be writing the final chapters. But alas, everything must come to an end.**

* * *

 **Chapter Forty-Four: Visit From The Other Side**

Adrien could barely bring himself to process what had just happened. The room almost seemed pitch black now that the bright portal had closed. The light that had been omitting itself from Gabriel had been extinguished. Now all Adrien could see was his father's silhouette as his back remained to everyone, simply staring at the place where the portal had once been. There was a strange, haunting chill in the air and it sent a violent shiver down Adrien's spine. His mother…Nina…they were gone. Gone forever. The words failed to compute inside his mind. However, the sudden sound of Marinette gasping for air beneath him, the feeling of warmth flooding back into her was enough to snap him out of his frozen state.

Instantly looking down at Marinette, Adrien kept gripping onto her tightly, savouring the warmth of life that was radiating off her body once again. Her eyes remained closed though. Her breathing was laboured, and Adrien glanced back down towards his shirt that Master Fu still had tightly pressed against her wound. Dark, fresh blood stained it and Adrien knew that they all had to get out of there. He needed to get Marinette to safety. But would his father let them leave? He had absolute power now. He possessed both the ladybug and the cat miraculous.

Nervously, and leaning protectively over Marinette, Adrien glanced back up at his father who slowly began moving his hands up to his ears. Adrien watched, suspicious and confused as Gabriel removed the earrings and slipped the ring off his finger. Adrien didn't dare move. The room was eerily silent. The butterflies had vanished as soon as Gabriel had removed the butterfly miraculous. All Adrien could hear was his own heartbeat as it thudded fearfully in his chest, watching and waiting to see what his father was going to do.

Gabriel's arms fell limply to his sides, his hands slowly uncurled themselves, letting the two miraculous slip out of his grasp and fall to the ground. The earrings and the ring both bounced as they hit the ground, the high pitched clatter sound echoed around the room, hurting Adrien's ears. They both rolled and came to a stop at opposite ends of the room as Gabriel began to look down towards his feet.

"It's over, Hawkmoth," Master Fu called gently, no trace of anger or malice in his voice. It was just a calm statement of fact.

But it seemed like Gabriel already knew that. Not saying a word, Gabriel collapsed onto his knees in defeat, and Adrien's eyes widened as he saw the mistakable shaking of his shoulders – he was crying. But Adrien couldn't hear anything. Suddenly, everything sounded like it was underwater, like his ears were clogged up, rendering him unable to hear anything but muffled sounds. He was vaguely aware of the sound of Master Fu possibly calling his name. But Adrien couldn't process it. His vision blurred, smudging like droplets of water on a painted canvas. His mind whirled like a spinning top, until finally, Adrien could no longer fight the urge to fall forward. His whole body slumped on top of Marinette's unconscious form, and his eyes, as heavy as lead, drifted closed before everything went black.

.

Everything felt so light and calm. It was like Adrien was floating on an endless ocean, limbs spread wide apart as he closed his eyes and tilted his face towards the warmth of the sun. He kept floating along, not caring where he was going, simply enjoying the peaceful tranquillity of this feeling. A light, warm breeze danced passed him, calling to him, guiding him. As he followed the breeze, the air grew warmer and warmer. But it wasn't an unbearable, sweltering heat. It was like stepping into a warm bath or being tucked into bed under cosy blankets. It felt safe and inviting. It felt so natural to follow this warm and comforting feeling.

 _Adrien,_ the wind whispered his name.

There was something familiar about the way his name was said. However, Adrien couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was so sure that there was something important that he needed to remember. However, Adrien couldn't bring himself to strain his memory. He was enjoying this peaceful feeling way too much. There was no pain. No negative emotions. Just endless peace. It was like laying in bed in the morning, knowing that he didn't have to get up to be anywhere. He could just stay there in his warm, protective bubble for as long as he liked.

 _Adrien,_ the wind whispered again. However, this time it sounded louder, more feminine.

But Adrien didn't want to move. He didn't want to respond. He was happy where he was, drifting along the warm, endless ocean. The calm sea continued to carry him and Adrien relaxed even more, allowing himself to be gently pulled by the will of the ocean. From the inside of his eyelids, Adrien could tell the world outside was bright. But he didn't want to open his eyes. He could just drift to sleep here, then he would be even more at peace.

 _Adrien, sweetheart, please open your eyes._

Mom? But Adrien still couldn't quite bring himself to open his eyes. Facing his mother would mean facing pain. He wanted this moment to last forever. He wanted to forget. He wanted to continue floating. But at the same time…he did want to see her again. There was nothing he would love more than to open his eyes and see her face again. But he wasn't sure he could face her. After everything she had done. After everything _he_ had done. Would she be angry with him? Would she tell him things that Adrien didn't want to hear? Now that Adrien knew almost the whole truth, he wasn't even sure he recognised his own mother anymore. She wasn't the sweet, kind, perfect person that Adrien had thought she was. She had done bad things. Adrien wasn't sure he could face all of that.

"Adrien, please, it's okay, you're safe," Emilie gently coaxed him again.

He flinched as he felt a warm hand gently touch his cheek. It sent warm, comforting waves through his whole body, and Adrien shivered at the contact. A contact he had not known in so long: a mother's touch. There was so much love in one simple gesture. So much love for _him._

Slowly, Adrien began to peel his eyes open, but the brightness soon had him snapping them shut again as they began to ache. He opened them a lot more cautiously this time, giving his eyes a chance to adjust to the bright light. A bright silhouette stood before him, but soon his vision cleared enough to reveal the face of…his mother.

Words became caught in his throat and his heart came to an abrupt stop. Seeing her face again so clearly was incredibly haunting. She looked exactly like she had done the day she left, only her face was more smooth. There was no sign of worry or stress on her beautiful features. Her green eyes were warm as she stared at her son, her hand still gently cupping his cheek as she drank in every inch of him. It was like she was trying to desperately memorise every part of him within a painfully short timeframe.

"You've grown into such a remarkable young man," Emilie beamed.

"Where are we?" Adrien questioned as he looked around, beginning to panic slightly. All he saw around him was a white, empty space. It was just him and his mother.

Emilie lowered her hand from Adrien's face and her warm smile faded slightly, her expression morphing into one of great sadness. However, she never answered Adrien's question. It almost looked like she didn't know what to say. Adrien stared at her. She looked so familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. It was his mother standing in front of him, that much he was certain of. She looked like his mother, sounded like his mother and even smelled like his mother. But at the same time, she wasn't the woman he had grown up with. The woman who had raised him was nothing but a façade, a lie. That thought almost made it hard to look at her. So many conflicting emotions ran through Adrien at the same time, that he almost lost his balance at the force in which they passed through his brain.

"Y-you were a miraculous holder?" Were the first words that Adrien managed to shakily utter.

"Yes," his mother whispered.

"You and Nina were best friends…you left her on a mountain to die…you hid Marinette away and lied to her about her true identity…" Adrien gasped out, struggling hold back the tears that were threatening to burst free. "You lied to all of us."

A single tear trickled down Emilie's cheek before she gently sniffed. "I'm not proud of everything I did. If I could go back and do things different, then I would."

"But why? Why did you do everything you did?"

"I honestly thought that at the time I was doing the right thing," Emilie explained, "that I was protecting everyone. I never wanted this life. I never wanted to be a miraculous holder. But Nina forced this fate upon me because of her own selfish greed. All her life, she lusted for power, for attention. She was so starved of it as a child, that it became all she ever wanted. She was bullied and ignored and I always felt sorry for her and looked the other way whenever her actions were questionable. For too long I gave her the benefit of the doubt and allowed her to do things without ever stepping in and stopping her. Us becoming miraculous holders was one of those times."

"But that didn't mean you had to treat her the way you did afterwards," Adrien couldn't help but accuse, "all of this could have probably been avoided if you had just been a better friend. You'd still be here, father wouldn't have done what he has, Marinette –"

"Would never have existed," Emilie finished for him with a grave look on her face. "Not that I'm trying to justify my actions, but sometimes the best things can come out of even the darkest actions. If none of this had ever happened, then Marinette, the girl who I know you love so much, would never have been born."

Adrien frowned. "I don't understand."

"I never meant to steal Gabriel off Nina," Emilie sighed, "I knew how much she loved him. But you and I both know, don't we Adrien, that you can't help who you fall for."

The image of Marinette's smiling face danced across his mind before Adrien instantly began panicking. Memories of the fight came flooding back to him like a great tidal wave, the force of it almost knocking him backwards. Her screams, the blood…where was she? Was she safe? Was she…?

"Marinette," Adrien choked out, "i-is she?"

"She's resting," Emilie reassured him. "How I wish I could speak to both of you. She deserves as much of an explanation as you do, but her mind is too weak and broken right now. Her thoughts are incoherent and you're being held in separate rooms. Xing is with her right now, watching over her. We could only enter both of your minds through his magic at the same time if you were in the same room."

Adrien gasped. "It was you. You and Xing. You were the shadow creatures who were invading our dreams! Turning them into nightmares!"

His mother looked alarmed for a split second before she rushed to explain. "We never meant to cause you or Marinette any harm! Far from it, we were trying to warn you, to explain things to you. It's not an easy task to reach into your minds. Luckily, Xing was a powerful enough guardian that we were able to manage it, but it didn't mean the signal went a little fuzzy sometimes, especially because I was trapped in the void. Xing somehow managed to reach his spirit across to me and help me. It was why we could never show ourselves properly, why we always looked like shadows. Because we were trying so hard to manifest the scenes of our past to explain things to you, that we couldn't manifest ourselves properly. You were never meant to get hurt, we had no idea those visions could actually harm you. We had both never tried this sort of magic before. Xing's spirit communicated with me from beyond and we knew that Nina was out there, seeking Marinette. We tried to warn you, but our messages got muddled along the way."

"You're telling me," Adrien mumbled, frowning as he thought back to all the fear and confusion those dreams and visions had caused. How much Marinette had suffered from lack of sleep, from her fear and because of the injuries she had received from the visions. All this time…it was just their parents trying to warn them. But that did certainly explain why Adrien was seeing visions of the past. How these visions knew things that only his mother could have known.

"Gabriel and I couldn't help our feelings for each other," Emilie continued their previous conversation, "but we tried to consider Nina as much as we possibly could. I didn't want this to ruin our friendship, despite how much I knew it would break her heart. We didn't have an affair. We tried to stay away from each other as much as we could, but our feelings were too strong. That's when Gabriel decided to call it off with Nina. Of course, Nina instantly suspected that there was somebody else. Then when Gabriel and I started dating, well, that was the beginning of the end."

Adrien stared at his mother, waiting for her to continue explaining.

"Nina could never get over it. She loved Gabriel more than I had ever seen love anyone, however, it was toxic love. It was always about _her_ needs, what _she_ wanted and what Gabriel could give her. He was rich and already and successful fashion designer. Nina saw him as her ticket to her dream life and fell head over heels." Emilie sighed. "She never forgave us. She pretended to move on, but I could see it in her eyes. I could also see just how ill she was becoming. She became increasingly obsessed with her miraculous and its power. She started mistreating Duusu and I just couldn't stand by and watch her turn into this monster. So I tricked her into staying with the guardians at the temple. I thought they would be able to help her. But when I announced I was pregnant with you, she just seemed to get worse. She became even more deranged it seemed. I could see how much she resented me. All she had ever wanted was to have a family, to have Gabriel, but in her eyes, I had taken all of that away from her."

"But then when she overheard some sort of _prophecy,_ " his mother sneered at the word, "she became determined to have a child, believing that child would be the future ladybug miraculous holder who would seize the cat miraculous and shape the universe. Nina's plan became evident pretty quickly once I had found out she was pregnant. Xing had always had a crush on her, and Nina had manipulated that in order to get what she wanted. Once she discarded him, Xing came to me for help and told me what he thought Nina had planned."

"What exactly _did_ she have planned?" Adrien asked, confused.

His mother shook her head incredulously. "She became so convinced by this prophecy, but the problem is prophecies don't always come true. There's always a high level of choice involved, and I believe, despite how wrong they may have been, our actions next might have just saved the full prophecy from coming to pass. Nina became so obsessed with being a miraculous wielder, by _helping people._ She craved the love and attention that it gave her. She loved the power of imposing what she believed was right on everyone. She truly believed that she thought she was doing good. But as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. However, her intentions were far from pure. The tragic thing is, she just wanted to be loved. She wanted people to look to her as their saviour. She wanted to force her views on people and create her vision of a perfect world. She was going to use her own baby to impose that on everybody. She would indoctrinate her own child and use them to create this world that she envisioned. But she was becoming increasingly volatile, psychotic even. Duusu would sneak off and inform me while I was at the temple what Nina was planning and just how deranged she had become. I knew I had to do something."

"Take Marinette away." Adrien felt his stomach sink at his own words.

Nina nodded glumly, "I didn't want to do it. It felt cruel. But Xing was so worried and I was worried as well. I didn't want this baby to grow up being abused by a mother who's mental state was too far gone to properly take care of her. There was no help for Nina. The guardians had tried everything, but she had become too corrupted by power. I supposed her sociopathic tendencies had always been there, I was just too stupid to do anything about them. I kept telling myself that she would get better. That she didn't mean the things she did and it was just the result of her bad life experiences. I kept making excuses for her. But not this time. This time I knew I had to act because there was an innocent little baby involved."

Adrien nodded slowly in agreement, beginning to realise that the situation was a lot more grey than he had previously thought.

"The original plan was to sneak into the temple after she had given birth, before she would have a chance to slip away with the baby and disappear forever. Where she would be free to warp the baby's mind and turn her into a monster, determined to steal the most powerful miraculous and bend the universe to her will. It was decided that I should be the one to take the baby, as we knew she wouldn't let Xing anywhere near her. We knew that she would want to prove to me that she was finally getting what she wanted; she'd want the attention and approval off me. Nina would stay with the guardians for the rest of her life so they could keep an eye on her. But then everything went wrong." Emilie shuddered, her eyes growing distant and haunted. "We ended up getting into a fight when I came to visit her just in time for her to give birth. She freaked out over my presence and stormed off into the mountain, so I ran after her. When I finally caught up with her, she had another sanity lapse and tried to transform to fight me, but she was pregnant and it must have put a lot of strain on her. Her waters broke and I knew this would be my only chance to enact the plan. I hadn't realised just how bad she had gotten and knew she wouldn't let me in to see her and the baby afterwards. So I lied to her and said there was no way we would be able to get down the mountain."

His mother began to visibly shake and Adrien's hands twitched, longing to reach out to touch her, to comfort her, but he wasn't sure if he could. His hands remained still by his side, despite how much they ached to be wrapped around his mother, embracing her. But this was a lot to take in. He was still shocked and horrified at his mother's actions.

"I was forced to help her give birth. I was no doctor, I only had my own personal experience of giving birth to you to go off of. I knew there was something seriously wrong with her – she was bleeding far too much. It took hours and a storm began to role in. I knew we didn't have long. Luckily, I managed to safely deliver the baby, but I knew Nina didn't have long left; she was losing too much blood." Emilie's voice shook slightly as she spoke. "I knew I had to save the baby. I wanted to give her the chance to have a normal life, something Nina would never have allowed. Nina was too dangerous. Too much of a threat to everybody's safety. So I left her there." Emilie's breath became caught in her throat and she made a choking sound as she spoke those words.

"I left her there," she gasped out again, seemingly unable to come to terms with what she had said herself. Adrien stared down at his feet with wide eyes. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. It was all so horrific. On the one hand, he wad disgusted and horrified over his mother's actions, but at the same time, he could understand her logic and why she had done it.

"I gave the baby to Xing for him to bring up and I thought that was it. That it was all over." Emilie wrapped her arms around herself as if she was trying to hold herself together. "He sent me regular reports of her progress as we were worried that she would turn out to be like her mother or something. But she was a healthy and happy baby. I helped Xing purchase a small house in the nearest village to the temple, and we had no idea that Nina had survived. However rumours began amongst the guardians that she had survived. I don't know if someone had seen her or something. Maybe she had been briefly seen at the temple, thinking Xing and the baby might be there, that's the only explanation I can think of. I also had no idea that she now had somebody helping her. Someone who knew about the miraculous and wanted one. I rushed back to China to check on Xing and the baby, and it was while I was there that Nina found us and attacked. Xing told me to grab the baby and run, and I managed to slip out the back while Xing kept her distracted."

"W-what happened to Xing?" Adrien asked, though he had a dark feeling that he already knew the answer.

Emilie took a deep breath. "She killed him. She brutally slaughtered him. I was only intending on hiding with the baby until Xing had dealt with Nina. We had been prepared to smuggle both of them to France if necessary. I had passports created for them just in case and I brought them with me. When news of Xing's death reached me, I didn't know what to do. All of a sudden, I had to look after another baby, but as much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn't take her in. It was too dangerous and I knew that Nina would try and hunt me to the end of the earth at some point. But then I remembered…Xing had a sister living in France. It was perfect. Nina would never think that I would give the baby to her as it was almost too obvious. I hid Marinette in plain sight. At least this way, I could always watch over her and she could be with family and grow up in a loving, happy home. Sabine and Tom were more than happy to take her in and raise her as their own. We vowed not to tell Marinette anything because we wanted her to grow up and lead a normal life. Meanwhile, I would spend my time trying to track Nina down and ending her threat once and for all."

Adrien thought back to all of the maps and notes that cluttered his mother's office. It all made sense now. It explained why his parents had always been so paranoid while he was growing up. They were expecting Nina to show up at any time and take them all out. That's why they never let Adrien outside the mansion on his own. It wasn't just because of their fame, it was because they were trying to protect him from Nina. All of this information was almost too overwhelming for Adrien.

"Then Master Fu arrived…" Emilie's face turned bleak. "He had escaped from China with the miraculous. Nina had returned to the temple and had slaughtered everyone in there in revenge and because she was seeking the other miraculous to obtain more power."

"A whole temple full of guardians? Couldn't they have easily fought her off?" Adrien gasped.

Emilie shook her head. "Nina was clever and skilled in combat. She made sure to take everyone out silently, one by one. By the time the guardians noticed what was happening, it was too late. Luckily, Master Fu managed to grab the miraculous and escape. I helped him set up and start a new life in Paris. For years there was no news of Nina's whereabouts so I decided to go looking at the temple, wondering if she might be hiding there now that it was empty. It turned out I was right and…well…you know what happened next."

Adrien felt his heart sink into his chest and he slowly nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. Images of the look on his mother's face as she was pushed into the void, and the unsympathetic look on Nina's face as she walked away invaded his mind and make him feel sick. The things that his mother had gone through…what she had to do in order to try and keep everyone safe…

"I…I know I've made a lot of mistakes, Adrien," Emilie said shakily, "I don't expect forgiveness, but I hope that one day…maybe…you might understand and hopefully come to terms with what I did. I-I lied to you…and words cannot express how sorry I am…"

Before Adrien even had time to think, he wrapped his arms tightly around his mother and pressed his face in between her shoulder and her neck, nuzzling into her, just like he used to do when he was a child. He inhaled her scent, savouring the moment and how real she felt. He no longer cared about his mother's mistakes. Right now, he just wanted to hold her and stay in her arms forever. Right now, she was nothing but his mother, the kind and caring woman who had raised him and he couldn't help but love her with all his heart, despite how much he struggled to come to terms with everything that had happened.

Emilie seemed shocked and hesitant at first, but soon, her arms were wrapped tightly around Adrien, pulling him in even closer, clinging onto him tighter than she ever had before. Everything else just seemed to melt away in that moment. Adrien once again felt like he was floating on top of that warm ocean again, feeling nothing but peace as he finally got to embrace his mother again after so long. She pressed her face into his hair and Adrien soon felt warm tears trickling onto his skin as his mother silently cried. Tears also stung Adrien's eyes and it wasn't long before he wasn't able to hold them back. He sobbed into his mother's arms, clinging onto her for dear life, praying that this moment would never end and that he could hold onto her forever.

"I haven't got much longer, Adrien," Emilie whispered into him which only caused Adrien to cling onto her tighter.

"Why? Can't you stay? Can't you come back?" Adrien's voice cracked as he begged desperately.

"I'm afraid I can't Adrien. I am no longer a part of this world. I still love your father with all my heart, but I can't forgive him for what he's done. He was a fool to think he could bring me back. But he couldn't. The wish struggled to be granted because I was pushed into the void. Possessing both the ladybug and the cat miraculous only grants you control of the universe, but the void is not part of the universe. It is the space which exists outside of it. Therefore I was able to rebel against Gabriel's commands and pull Nina into the void with me. Gabriel held all of the cards until the very end. I'm sickened by what he has done, but at least he was able to lure Nina into his trap so I could defeat her and make sure Marinette lived. I made sure that, once again, only this time it was intentional, that Nina was never able to achieve her dreams and aspirations. Everything comes into full circle. Nina Couture: the woman who can never get what she wants no matter how hard she tries."

"Where is Nina?" Adrien asked, slightly fearful.

"Scattered into atoms for all eternity," Emilie explained, "the only reason my consciousness was able to survive for so long was because I was so angry and desperate. Like an angry spirit that couldn't move on, I was able to remain as conscious as possible to help stop Nina once and for all. We've both had our vengeance on each other, it's time for me to move on. Now I'm finally free."

"Please stay!" Adrien begged, gripping the fabric of his mother's shirt tightly, hoping to keep her pinned to him.

However, Emilie slowly reached up and loosened his grip before pulling away slightly so that they could both look at each other once again. Tears stained her cheeks and her eyes continued to glisten. Her smile was sad, yet content as she stared at him. Adrien stared back, pleading with his eyes for her to try and find some way to stay. How could he let go of her now? Now that he had seen her again? It was cruel. Adrien wasn't sure if he could face losing her again.

"I can't," Emilie breathed before speaking up more, "I'm dead, Adrien. What you're talking to now is just a ghost, a projection of what I once was, a projection of my consciousness across the cosmos before I can let go and sleep. I came here to explain things to you…to say goodbye."

"No!" Adrien yelled.

"You have a whole future ahead of you to look forward to." His mother smiled at him reassuringly. "We finally got a chance to say goodbye to each other, but now we both have to move on. Soon, you have to wake up. There are people out there that need you. That need Chat Noir, that need Adrien. It's not your time yet, so whenever you're ready, just wake up."

"I can't…" Adrien gasped in panic, "I can't face everyone."

"You can," Emilie replied gently before stepping away from him. Adrien tried to reach out for her again, but her words finally sunk in and he understood. He had to move forward now. For his own sake, he had to move on. Otherwise he would become bitter, cold and obsessed with the past just like his father. His mother was gone, but he was lucky in that he now had explanations. He got to say goodbye. He knew his mother would finally be able to rest in peace. They were safe from Nina now and they were safe from Hawkmoth.

At those thoughts, he gave his mother one final smile before nodding at her determinedly. If she was leaving, then he didn't want to spend his last moments crying and breaking down. He could break down later. He wanted his mother's last vision of him to be of happiness and confidence. He wanted her to pass on with that reassurance.

However, the sight of an approaching figure behind his mother soon caught his attention. It was man of middling stature with Chinese heritage. He looked a lot like Marinette, only his features were more masculine and his eyes were dark instead of the hypnotic blue colour that Marinette's were. He offered Adrien a small smile as he approached.

"Xing," Adrien breathed.

Xing nodded.

"Please tell Marinette and Sabine that I love them," he asked, looking sad as he did so.

"You weren't able to talk to Marinette?" Adrien asked worriedly.

Xing shook his head. "Her mind is too weak and is still trying to heal. She's been through so much. Nina…" Xing clenched his hand into a tight fist before forcing himself to relax again. "Nina destroyed her mind and she's going to need all the help she can get. Marinette needs you, Adrien. Please look after her."

Adrien frowned seriously and nodded. "I will, I promise."

However, he soon gasped as the light around them began to grow brighter, almost blinding Adrien in the process. He shielded his eyes as best as he could, watching as his mother and Xing slowly began to disintegrate into millions of tiny pieces. He wanted to cry. To reach out and try and hold his mother together, but he knew he had to let her go. Adrien stared at her, longing to burn the image of her face smiling at him into his memory for all eternity. Everything around him continued to grow impossibly bright as his mother and Xing completely vanished from view. His head began to spin and soon he found himself falling backwards, once again landing on the soothing and calming ocean that had carried him here. His eyes closed, just as he faintly heard the sound of his mother whispering in his ear.

 _Goodbye, Adrien. I love you._

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 **Whelp, now there's only one chapter left. This feels so weird. I've been working on this story for around a year and have been writing it for nine months now. It feels really strange to know that it's practically over. I'm more impressed that I managed to finish a story that's this long. It was never meant to be this long but I kinda ended up getting carried away, ahaha. As always, please feel free to leave a review as it always really helps me out a lot. See you guys very soon for the final chapter.**


	45. Moving Forward

**Well, this is it. The final chapter. It feel so weird to be writing and posting this. I've been working on this story for so long now, that it feels so strange now that it's come to an end. Thank you so much for all of your reviews on the previous chapter, I really appreciate all of your help and feedback. Also, whoop whoop! This story hit the 300 review mark which is insane! Thank you! But now, without further ado…**

* * *

 **Chapter Forty-Five: Moving Forward**

All Marinette could feel was pain. Not only did her whole body ache, but her head also felt like it had been squashed by a truck. Just thinking about even the slightest thing caused her brain to explode in agonising pain. Then all she could think about was just how much her head hurt which caused it to hurt even more. What had happened? As she tried excruciatingly to think back to what had happened, the only thing that so far came to mind was bright, glowing orange eyes that stared into her very soul.

All she could see in front of her was an endless dark void. However, all was not silent. She could vaguely hear the sound of voices around her. Unable to make out what they were saying, they all sounded vaguely familiar.

"Why isn't she waking up?" A male voice cried out loudly, making Marinette's head hurt even more.

"Give her time," a calm voice reassured.

"Please, Master Fu, be honest," a female voice begged, "will…will she…remember anything?"

Master Fu? Master Fu? That name caused Marinette to begin boiling up in anger. That was a name she was supposed to hate. H-he was a…a guardian. He was the enemy. Marinette clutched at her head as her brain suddenly began to wage a war against itself. No…Master Fu was her friend. He had helped her. It was him who had gifted her with the ladybug miraculous. He had helped her so many times.

 _No! He was her enemy!_

 _No! He was her friend!_

"It's difficult to say," the same calm voice, Master Fu, explained, "Nina almost completely wiped her mind and morphed it into something new. She changed almost all of her memories, making it so that Marinette was almost an entirely different person. She caused a lot of damage to Marinette's mind. Tikki was able to try and heal her, we just don't know how well that worked until she wakes up. She may wake up with all the false memories Nina implanted within her, she may wake up completely healed or…" Master Fu cut himself off.

"What?" The familiar, upset male voice from before demanded, seemingly growing more and more agitated.

"Please tell us the truth, Master Fu," another male voice asked calmly, though there was an edge of worry to his tone. "If something is wrong with Marinette, we want to be as prepared as possible so that we can help her. We will not abandon her. We promised we would look after her. We failed in that task, now all that we can do is help her as much as possible to try and make up for our mistakes."

Master Fu sighed. "It's possible that Marinette could have some form of brain damage."

The three other people in the room gasped.

Brain damage? What were they talking about? Marinette felt fine. If only she could just open her eyes and tell these people. If only she could wake up and kill them for what they did to her. For them daring to get in the way of the miraculous that were rightfully hers! If only she could wake up and wrap her arms around these familiar voices, reassuring them and never letting them go. She was so sorry for everything that had happened. For everything that she had done.

"Oh Tom, this is all my fault," the woman sobbed, "you were right, we should have told Marinette the truth."

"No!" The male voice Marinette liked the most yelled. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine! I was the one who played with her feelings. I was the one who showed no concern for her and pushed her into Nina's waiting clutches. I should have been honest with her. I should have talked to her properly about everything. I could have stopped Nina. I could have stopped my – _Hawkmoth._ "

Nina…Nina…that name…Marinette's head burned as she thought. _My mom…I want my mom…she always knows what to do…she looks after me…_ Marinette wanted to scream as he brain continued to battle against itself. It was like it had split into two pieces as each side fought to dominant her body and take control. _No! That woman was a monster!_ The image of that woman's face filled Marinette's mind with nothing but fear. Nina must have done this to her. It must have happened when she had been captured…the feathers…those orange eyes.

"Tikki, Adrien," Master Fu spoke with a calm authority, "I think it's best if you two stay with her as much as possible. It might help her healing."

"Like I was going to leave her side anyway." The male voice, Adrien, mumbled as she felt a warm pressure on her hand.

"You need to rest too, Adrien." The woman expressed her concern.

"Yeah, you had a nasty bump to the head. We were honestly worried we were going to lose you for a second. If you need to take some time to rest, Marinette of all people would definitely understand. She wouldn't want you suffering."

Of course she wouldn't, Marinette thought. No! This was the son of Hawkmoth and Apatura! The son of her enemies! He was Chat Noir! The cat miraculous was rightfully hers and he was trying to keep it from her! No! He was the boy she loved more than anything in the world! He was the love of her life! He…he…he had hurt her. He had abused her trust. He had lied. He knew her identity and he had never told her. That's what had happened. It all came flooding painfully back to her. They had fought and she had run away. He had been toying with her, messing with her feelings. He didn't really care about her. So what was he doing here?

"I'll be fine," Adrien mumbled and Marinette felt something squeeze her hand.

"Tom, Sabine, maybe it might be best if you get some more supplies for Marinette?" Master Fu suggested. "She might appreciate a few home comforts when she wakes up. It might even help her recovery to be surrounded by familiar things."

Tom and Sabine didn't say a word as they shuffled out of the room, closely followed by someone else. Marinette heard what sounded like a door closing before the room went silent. The pressure on her hand remained, so Marinette got the feeling that she wasn't alone. The feeling felt comforting. This person's presence helped her relax a little more. Even the fighting within her brain seemed to stop for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, Marinette," Adrien said shakily, sounding like he was holding back tears, "I never _ever_ meant to hurt you. You mean so much to me. I was an idiot. I-I was so paranoid and scared that you could only ever love Adrien – the perfect boy, the model. I tried to capture your heart as both Adrien and Chat Noir and I didn't consider your feelings at all, or how confused you might get. I should have told you the truth. I should have told you the truth about everything. You ended up paying the ultimate price for it. It should be me in your position, not you. I wish that it was. I didn't protect you. _I'm so sorry._ "

Marinette felt a warm, slight pressure against her forehead – a light kiss.

"I love you, Marinette," Adrien whispered into her skin, "I love _you._ Ladybug and Marinette. You're one in the same. I love you. Please, please, _please,_ wake up."

Suddenly, Marinette's eyelids felt light and were no longer clamped shut like steel shutters. She wanted to wake up. She was ready to wake up. She wanted to be there for everybody. She couldn't bear it that she was causing everybody so much pain. So very slowly, she tried to open her eyes. They only fluttered at first, but Adrien clearly noticed as he gasped and she felt him pull back. No! She wanted him close! She _needed_ him close.

"M-Mari?" Adrien stuttered in shock. "Can you hear me?"

Finally, Marinette forced her eyes to open ever so slightly. The sudden brightness almost blinded her, so she let her eyelids hover where they were, giving her eyes a chance to get used to the light of the room. Adrien waited patiently, not saying a word, not even breathing. Marinette's whole body felt heavy, like she was being pinned to the bed by an invisible weight that was pressing down against every inch of her body. It made Marinette just want to give up and collapse again. But she fought on and tried opening her eyes wider this time. They ached slightly at the light, but adjusted more quickly this time. She was staring up at a familiar, but unfamiliar ceiling. It appeared she was lying down on the ground on some sort of thin mattress with a blanket delicately placed on top of her. She blinked, trying to figure out where she was.

"Marinette?" Adrien asked cautiously.

Marinette blinked again, this time her eyes flickering over towards the boy who was sat down on the ground next to her. He leaned over her slightly, staring down at her, his hands hovering in the air seemingly unsure of what he should do. Adrien looked like a wreck. His hair was untidy which was made even worse by the bandage that was wrapped around his head. His eyes were swollen and red, with tears staining his red, flushed cheeks. There were dark shadows under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in weeks. His silver ring glinted in the light and Marinette's eyes instantly zeroed in on it.

Growling, Marinette sat up and darted towards it, reaching for it. It was so close. It would be hers. It was rightfully hers! She would be master of the universe!

"Marinette!" Adrien cried out in alarm, grabbing hold of her wrists and pinning them down before Marinette could make a grab for his ring. In her weakened state, Marinette was unable to fight back and glared at Adrien with as much hatred as she could muster. He was keeping her ring from her. He was Chat Noir. He was the enemy. However, a searing pain went up her side and Marinette screamed, trying to thrash her way free even more. What had Adrien done to her? Why did her side hurt so much?

"Tikki!" Adrien yelled, panicked.

Suddenly, Marinette felt a light touch on top of her head. Though it was gentle, it had Marinette screaming in agony as the small touch set her brain on fire, cooking it inside her skull and turning it to mush. She felt strong arms wrap around her as Marinette reached up to grip her head, hoping to hold it in place as it felt like it was about to explode from all the pressure that was building up inside.

"Ssssh, Marinette, it's okay. It's Adrien. He's your – umm – friend." A high pitched voice reassured her.

"My head," Marinette whimpered as her body relaxed slightly. It all came flooding back to her again. Adrien…Adrien was Chat Noir. He was her partner, not her enemy. She had been trying to get to him for help before Nina…before those orange eyes. After that, everything simply went blank. It was like Marinette had been fast asleep. Where was she? What had happened? Obviously Adrien had somehow managed to save her from Nina's clutches. Strange, bad memories began to vanish. Her head still ached, though it no longer felt like it was about to explode. Instead, it was now nothing but a confused mess, not even sure which way was up anymore.

"Marinette?" Adrien asked cautiously again, slowly relaxing his grip on her, though he kept his arms stiff and ready to grab her again in case something happened. Marinette could feel his eyes burning into her, though she couldn't bring herself to look at him. What had she done? She had allowed Nina to capture her. She had moronically believed that she was there to help. How could she have been so stupid? She was so ashamed. Why was everyone even bothering to help her right now? She had run away from her parents, scaring them so much and had gotten them captured. She had failed to protect Master Fu and the miraculous, allowing them to fall into the hands of Hawkmoth. She had put Chat Noir and the whole of Paris in danger. How could she ever look anyone in the eye again?

"Where am I?" Was all Marinette could mumble. Her voice was hoarse from not being used in a while.

"Y-you're at Master Fu's," Adrien stuttered worriedly. "How much do you…remember?"

Marinette groaned and clutched her head in her hands again as she strained her brain to think. "Not a lot. Adrien…I'm so confused…and scared…why does everything hurt? Why does my head hurt so much? And…and my side?" Marinette finally glanced down to try and see what was wrong with her body. She was wearing her usual pink and white pyjamas, though Marinette could see something beyond the white fabric of her shirt. She frowned down at it and slowly began to pull her shirt up slightly to have a look before Adrien's large, warm hands stopped her.

"Be careful," Adrien warned, "you were so lucky that it didn't cause any damage to your organs. It only went through your side. Tikki was so focused on trying to heal your mind that we had to let your side heal naturally…" Adrien tailed off, staring at her stomach, getting angrier and angrier as he spoke, clenching his hands into tight fists.

"Adrien…what's wrong?" Marinette asked worriedly.

Adrien bowed his head, squeezing his eyes tightly shut before he spoke through clenched teeth. "I didn't protect you, Mari. I-I let this happen. I should have told you the truth. I shouldn't have messed with your head like I did. This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so selfish and so determined to win your heart, none of this would have happened. Your safety should have come above everything. I was completely reckless. I lead Hawkmoth right to you. I allowed Nina to…to…" Adrien choked on his words, "and…and…Hawkmoth…my own father…what he did…what he did to you…"

"Hey," Marinette cooed softly, placing a hand on his cheek, "it's okay, I'm alright. Don't blame yourself. It was me who was stupid. I was the one who should have been more careful and not been so stubborn. Those things I said to you…I'm so sorry…I should have known. I should have trusted you. I know you would never try to hurt me on purpose –"

A loud sigh interrupted both of them. "Are two just going to play the blame game for hours on end? Because it's already getting boring."

"Shut up, Plagg!" Tikki hissed.

"What?" Plagg, a little black kwami Marinette had never seen before, shrugged his shoulders. She guessed that must be Adrien's kwami. "Shouldn't these kids just be glad that they're okay and move forward from this?"

"But Marinette's not okay, is she?!" Adrien suddenly yelled, making Marinette jump.

"What are you talking about?" Marinette gasped. "I have a bit of a headache and my side hurts, but apart from that I feel fine," she lied. Well, it was true that that was the extent of her physical pain. But her brain really did feel like mush right now. She felt incredibly confused, but when she tried to remember back to try and figure out what happened, her brain screamed at her, setting up steal gates in front of her memories, barring her from going any further. There were so many blank spaces in her mind. But she didn't want Adrien to know that. She didn't want him to worry.

"Hawkmoth…he…he stabbed you Marinette…I didn't see him in time, not until it was too late…" Adrien's face paled and his eyes grew distant as he relived the scene. Marinette had never seen him look so haunted. Her side gave off an extra twinge of pain as she strained her brain to try and remember the incident, but all Marinette could draw up was a blank nothingness. It was like trying to remember before you were born. It was if she didn't exist in the moments Adrien was talking about.

"I…I don't remember. I don't remember anything," Marinette gasped out, feeling slightly panicked. "W-where is Hawkmoth? What happened?!"

"Sssh, it's okay," Adrien soothed, taking hold of her hands gently. "Hawkmoth is gone."

"Gone?" Marinette's eyes widened.

"He gave up the miraculous. He turned himself in and Nathalie was also arrested for being a willing participant. They got Leon too, so you don't have to worry about him either," Adrien explained before he let out a sigh and thought for a moment. "I think seeing the way my mother looked at him made my father realise the monster he had become. He knew it was all over. His ultimate goal and wish was to use the miraculous to bring my mother back. But he couldn't. Combining the power of the ladybug and cat miraculous only grants you control of the universe, but the void my mother was pushed into exists outside of the universe, therefore Hawkmoth struggled to manipulate it."

"How do you know that?" Marinette asked in shock. She never could have guessed that.

"Let's just say I got to have a quick conversation with my mother and Xing."

"Xing?" Why did that name sound familiar as it rolled off Marinette's tongue? It was…h-her father? Her real father?! Marinette winced as her head pounded, the memories flashed through her mind in one large blur. She was talking to Nina…in her office…she had admitted everything.

"My…my father…" Marinette breathed. It felt so wrong to use that word, yet so right at the same time. Tom was her father, he always had been and she would always view him as such, so it felt incredibly disrespectful to him to be using that word. But at the same time, it felt disrespectful towards Xing to not refer to him as her father because, well, that's what he was. He was her biological father.

"He sends you his love," Adrien smiled at her reassuringly.

"I don't understand," Marinette groaned before she gripped her hair as she leaned her head down. Her side hurt as she did so, but she didn't care. She was so lost. So confused. Everything was so overwhelming and she couldn't keep up with everything. Adrien still hadn't answered her question as to why she couldn't remember anything.

"What happened to him?" Marinette asked. "What happened to me? Adrien, please tell me. Why don't I remember anything? It can't be the stab wound surely? I mean, stuff like that doesn't cause you to randomly lose your memory?"

Adrien frowned at her worriedly. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I…I was in Nina's office and I'd just found out the truth. Leon…he caught me and then Le Paon was there and had her fan in her hand. I saw these bright orange eyes and then it's all a blank. Then I was suddenly awake here and Tikki was hovering over me, talking to me, though I can't remember what she was saying."

Adrien's face paled again. "Y-you mean…you don't remember waking up? You don't remember attacking me?"

"Attacking you?!" Marinette squeaked in fear.

"Marinette, relax, it's okay. You didn't hurt anybody." Tikki gently reassured her.

"But I attacked Adrien?! Why did I attack him?!"

"Nina…she…she erased your memories, made you believe in her cause and that you were supposed to steal my miraculous and rule the universe," Adrien explained slowly. "You and Nina came to attack Hawkmoth and seize all the miraculous. But Tikki managed to stop you. She tried to heal you. But it was difficult. Your brain is obviously still damaged and sometimes the memories Nina implanted may slip back into place. Master Fu says that Tikki will need to be constantly by your side for the rest of your life, keeping you healed and making sure you don't relapse."

"It's going to be a full-time job, but then again it always is looking after you," Tikki playfully teased.

"D-damaged?" Marinette gently touched her head, ignoring Tikki's teasing. She wasn't in the mood for jokes right now. "W-will I ever get better?"

"It's hard to say," Tikki sighed, "though you seem to be functioning alright at the moment and have already recovered more than we could ever have hoped for, but like Adrien said, I'll need to always be by your side, ready to heal you in case you relapse like you did moments ago. It took all of my energy to stop you during the battle with Hawkmoth and Le Paon. Nina caused a lot of damage. Psychical and environmental damage is easy to fix, but the human brain is a little bit more complicated."

"And you two are probably the most complicated humans there are," Plagg sniggered.

"Very funny." Adrien glared at his kwami.

"Nina!" Marinette suddenly gasped. "Where is she?!" Panic completely took over her body and she lurched forward to instinctively cling onto a startled Adrien. She never ever wanted to see that woman again. She didn't think anything could terrify her more than that possibility. She couldn't face her again. Not after everything she had done. That woman had become her worst nightmare.

"Ssssh, everything's fine," Adrien soothed her. "She's gone now and she can't ever hurt you again." And so Adrien launched into everything that happened, fully explaining everything. Marinette continued to cling onto his shirt, pressing the side of her face against his chest, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat to keep herself calm as he explained. He started from the very beginning. Started from how Nina and Emilie had been best friends while they were growing up and how Nina had become even more deranged and obsessed with power as time went by. How she and Gabriel had been dating until he met and fell in love with Adrien's mother. That tale made Marinette feel a little weird; the thought of their parents being together once was a little on the hard to stomach side.

But Marinette didn't have too much time to dwell on that thought as Adrien continued. Marinette didn't say a word once as he explained, simply nodding slightly to show that she was still paying attention. He told her about how Nina had been sent to stay with the guardians and how she had overheard a potential prophecy about her giving birth to the next ladybug who would go on to shape the universe. All of this information was now starting to sound on the familiar side from what she remembered Nina telling her. Adrien told her of how Nina had seduced a guardian, Xing Cheng, Sabine's older brother. How Xing, Emilie and the rest of the guardians teamed up to take Marinette away and raise her properly. Tears welled up in Marinette's eyes and she silently cried when Adrien told her of how Emilie had to make the hard choice to leave Nina on the mountain to get Marinette to safety. Of how Nina had survived and found them again, killing Xing as Emilie made her escape with a baby Marinette. How Tom and Sabine had taken her in, how Emilie had gone looking for Nina, finally finding her only to be pushed into the portal Tikki had told her about one time, all the way up until the battle with Hawkmoth.

"My father tried to open a portal up and my mother managed to come through," Adrien explained, looking increasingly more drained as he continued his story. "That had been his plan all along. He knew that Nina would come for him and that she would use you to do so. The whole thing was one huge trap to get his hands on our miraculous and to enact his revenge on Nina. He used you as the sacrifice, but luckily my mother didn't allow any of it to happen. She removed Nina's miraculous and dragged her into the portal with her, sealing her away in the void forever. Duusu and Nooroo are now getting some much needed rest. Right now I'm technically in the care of my bodyguard now that my father and Nathalie have been arrested, but I'm going to try and get a court order so that I can be recognised as a legal adult. I'm sixteen and have enough wealth and a career to fall back on, so I don't really see it being a problem."

Marinette didn't say a word. Instead, she just clung onto Adrien even tighter.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked after a few seconds of heavy silence.

"I'm fine, why?" Marinette responded flatly.

"Well…she was your mother."

Marinette was shaking her head before Adrien had even finished his sentence. "No she wasn't. She was the woman who gave birth to me, nothing more. Sabine is my mother. She was the one who loved me and raised me. She was the one who protected me all those years and sacrificed so much. Nina wasn't capable of a love like that. She got what she deserved."

Adrien sighed, extracting himself from Marinette's grip slightly so that he could gaze down at her. "You don't have to put on a brave face for me, Marinette."

"I'm not," Marinette stated honestly, "that's how I really feel. That woman is nothing to me. She's where she belongs, where she can't hurt anyone again. I'm so sorry about everything she did to you…what she did to your mother…" Marinette gasped out that final part, not really sure what to say. Would Adrien resent her for Nina's actions? She honestly wouldn't blame him if he did.

"Why are you apologising, you didn't do any of this!" Adrien gasped in horror.

"I encouraged some of it," Marinette could feel herself on the verge of sobbing.

"Here we go again," Plagg mumbled.

"I hate to say it, but for once, I think Plagg is right," Tikki begrudgingly agreed, "you two have got to stop apologising and blaming yourselves. What's done is done now. What matters now is that you try to forgive each other and move forward from this. You're both incredibly lucky to survive and have each other."

"You're right, Tikki," Marinette replied, though she still felt incredibly guilty. However there was one thing that still had her worried. If Emilie could come back from the void and communicate with both her and Adrien…did…did that mean…?

"Marinette…" Adrien's unsure voice interrupted her thoughts, "I don't expect forgiveness. If you want, I can get out of your life right now. What I did…was horrible. And although Tikki is right in that we should try to move forward, I know it's not going to be easy, especially for you with everything that happened and –"

Marinette didn't even hesitate. She didn't even think. In that moment, his lips called to her and she planted hers firmly against him, instantly silencing him. Marinette still wasn't fully confident in herself. Maybe a stupid, insecure part of her would always wonder if Adrien only cared about Marinette because she was Ladybug. But she knew that she loved both sides of Adrien. Adrien and Chat Noir were one in the same to her. She trusted her partner, her best friend, the love of her life enough to know now that he would never lie to her, not again. She had to learn to trust him wholly again and vice versa. But all she knew in this moment was that she loved him and she wanted to be with him always. That was good enough for her.

Adrien froze in shock at first, but soon returned her kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around her, pinning her against him, though he did make sure to be careful of her injured waist. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before they were both out of breath and needed to pull away. They didn't stray too far from each other though as they rested their foreheads against each other's gently. Adrien's eyes exploded in happiness, like bright green fireworks, and Marinette could happily get lost in his eyes and watch the beautiful display for eternity.

"Maybe instead of wallowing in what happened, we could maybe learn from it and start again?" Marinette suggested. "If we're destined to be together, and want to be together, surely there's no harm in taking things nice and slow?"

Adrien smiled at her softly. "Slow is good, my lady. But right now, you need to concentrate on resting and getting better," he playfully scolded before gently forcing her to lie back down.

Marinette pouted, however, she could feel exhaustion beginning to slowly overtake her once again, so she didn't put up much resistance. Adrien leaned down and gave her one last gentle peck on the lips. Marinette clung onto his hand, making sure that he stayed with her. Her eyes drifted closed and for the first time in a while, Marinette felt peaceful and content. She knew the journey that lay ahead and recovering from all of this would be hard, but she knew that as long as she had Adrien by her side, everything would be alright.

* * *

 _The End_

* * *

 **And that's it. I often feel like I'm not very good at endings, but I'll let you guys be the judge. It's been a blast guys. My first ever Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction is now complete. I really can't thank everyone enough for taking the time to read this story. Some of you have even been here since the very beginning which is astonishing to me. I was so nervous about posting this fanfic, but you guys have really given me the confidence to keep writing. To all of those people who were kept awake binge reading this, I'm sorry. To all those people who provided me with constructive criticism, thank you so much, it has really helped me out and I hope that I can continue to use your advice in future stories. Also, thank you to those who have followed and favourited this story. It means a lot to me.**

 **If you're sad that this story has ended, then don't worry. If you like my work, I have plenty of other content. Two other love square fanfics are currently up and running for you to read, though be careful, as one of my fics, Madness Within, is rated M. I also have lots more planned for the future. There are two other fic ideas I have in the works as well as a few one-shots which should hopefully be published soon.**

 **Also, don't forget that I have my own blog on blogspot, Taurus Pixie, where I post Miraculous Ladybug and fanfiction related content. You can read all about what inspired my stories, Miraculous Ladybug fanfic recommendations as well as me talking about the show in general, including episode reviews and fan theory discussions. Anyone can comment on my blog page and everyone is welcome. You can also follow me on Tumblr at thetauruspixie. It's mainly a Miraculous Ladybug blog.**

 **Once again, thank you so much to everyone who has read this story. I apologise for any stupid typos that I missed during editing. Maybe one day I'll go back over it and clean everything up, but for now, sorry for the mess. I am good at English, I promise. It's just I type and read at lightning speed so I miss stuff. Also, shout out to my boyfriend who helped me edit sometimes and come up with ideas. I apologise for the continuous breakdowns that you had to deal with as I stressed myself out over this story.**

 **I do have a possible sequel idea for this story if people express enough interest. I'm just a little worried about milking it, and if I do end up deciding to write it, it probably won't be published for a while yet. You'll have to let me know what you think. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this story. I'm sad that it's over, but it's time to move onto new things. I hope to see you guys there.**


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